A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love
by simply-aly
Summary: Part 2 of 2: Katara, fearing for her friends' lives, makes a hard decision, and decides to live with Zuko in the Fire Nation as his Fire Nation Princess. There, she meets many people with dark pasts, and a Royal Family with even darker secrets. :ZxK:
1. Talking with Kezi

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 1. Talking with Kezi

_Summery: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

**Authors Note: Sorry for taking so long to get this up, but Christmas gets a little hectic with my family, and I had to celebrate it at six different places over the past week…I haven't had a lot of time for writing, even with Christmas break. Well, anyway, it's here now.**

**I decided to start writing in first person, because third person gets a little boring sometimes. So, this story will be told through Katara's eyes. Everything about the Fire Nation capitol I made up, so don't criticize me.**

_**Talking with Kezi**_

Before I knew it, we were off of the Fire Nation ship, and at the Fire Nation palace. Once off of the ship that I had been on for the last week and a half, I was taken to the palace. I was given a tour of the entire thing, except for a few places. I did not get to see the Fire Lord or Zuko's chambers. My personal maid, Kezi, was leading me around the palace. "If you're really lucky, you will never have to see Fire Lord Ozai." Kezi told me.

"Could I really be that lucky?" I asked. I haven't been real lucky lately now have I?

"I hope so, but if you do have to see him, never look into his eyes." My personal maid advised.

"Why, what's wrong with his eyes?"

"Nothing really, it's just that his eyes are so dark… it's like there is no life left in them." Kezi was telling me these things, and I was listening, but my head was a million miles away. _There's something wrong here. It's like the place is… is… dead. _I thought "Katara, Katara, Ka-tar-a?" Kezi waved her hand in front of my, trying to get my attention.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." I apologized. Did I need to apologize to my maid? Was that required? I figured it wasn't, but by the way she beamed when I did, I decided to treat her like I would anyone else.

"It's okay," Kezi said. "Hey, why don't we check out your room?"

"Yeah, I've always wondered what it looked like." I said.

When we first entered what were to be my quarters, the first room Kezi and I entered was what I thought to be a sitting room. Like my room on the ship, there was a table with two chairs on one side of the room, and on the other side were three couches in a 'U' shape. The couches had matching pillows. The room had white carpeting with Sky blue walls. The velvet on the couches and chairs and anything else in the room was red. It was like a combining of water and fire. The wood was painted white, but it was somewhat distressed to look old. Everything in the room was so detailed. The furniture had detailed silver velvet designs embroidered into them. The wood had precise carvings that were so detailed they had to have been done by hand, and it must have taken forever. It was a really amazing room.

"Your room has been specially done for you." Kezi told me. She smiled. "Maids were fretting over the simplest of things. Like where to hang paintings, where to place candles, or how to arrange the pillows." Kezi giggled, "It was actually quite nice, not to mention funny, to see everyone so excited to see someone. Seeing people around here usually means something bad has happened, or that something bad is about to happen."

"People are excited to see me?" I asked. I was surprised. I knew that Fire Lord would be happy. He was getting some control over my lands—not complete control, but control enough. I just didn't think anybody else would be happy about my coming. Didn't they wonder why a Water Tribe girl was married to the future Fire Lord? Well, I was the Princess, but did it even matter? Apparently it did, because if I wasn't I have a feeling none of this would be happening. I think I would have liked my life better if it wasn't happening, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

Kezi broke my thoughts though, "Yes, everyone is excited to see the future Fire Lady. There isn't one right now, Fire Lady Ursa sort of…" Kezi broke off suddenly, "Well, I'll let your husband tell you that, but you have to wait until he wants to talk about it." Kezi advised. I was a little confused.

"Why?" I wondered. What happened to Zuko's mother? Where is she?

Kezi and I sat on the velvet couches, each of us on a different one so we were facing each other. Kezi sighed. "Me and my big mouth." Kezi muttered under her breath, but I could hear her. "It's quite a sensitive subject and Prince Zuko is taunted with it all of the time by Princess Azula anyway, well before his banishment… oops, I have said too much as it is, I really should be going." Kezi stood up to leave, but I grabbed a hold of her wrist. I still had a few questions, and they couldn't wait.

"Who is Azula?" I asked the girl.

"Princess Azula is Zuko's younger sister. She was to take the throne before Prince Zuko came back." Kezi told me. "She probably doesn't like that he's back, because now that he is, she doesn't get the throne. That means that she most likely will not like you. It would probably be in your best interest if you would stay out of Princess Azula's way if at all possible."

"What is she like?"

"Well, she has hair about the same color as Prince Zuko's only it is usually in a bun with strands hanging down on both sides of her face. She smiles a lot of the time, only it is sort of a sadistic smile. She is seriously messed up in the head somewhere; she probably got her fathers genes. In retrospect, she is really beautiful, but she can be ruthless, she is heartless, cold and she is not afraid to say how she feels. She acts on impulse and does whatever she wants whenever she wants." Kezi told me.

I finally got a good look at Kezi. She had short black hair, and her eyes were a glowing yellow that looked so much like a cats. She had freckles almost all over her cheeks and nose, and she couldn't have been much older than me. "I know this is rude to ask, but how old are you?" I asked her.

"I'm seventeen," Kezi replied. She's only two years older than I am.

"Why are you working here?" I asked. I saw a look of panic cross Kezi's face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your personal life. I just wondered why you are working at the palace instead of… sorry again." I realized that I was babbling, and stopped, apologizing one more time.

Kezi's eyes were looking at the fluffy, soft, white carpet. After a moment of silence she looked up at me. "It's okay, I understand, but I don't really want to tell you why…" Kezi was trying to look as if she was unaffected by what I asked, but her eyes betrayed her. Her glowing yellow cat eyes looked at me with many emotions: grief, sadness, betrayal, but most of all… most importantly, there was a glimmer of hope. "… not here anyway. There is a dirt road that leads down to the lake. My house is the last one, the one closet to the beach. If you really want to know about my past and present situation, you could come over tonight." Kezi offered.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to—" I tried to decline but she started to talk.

"No, I want you to come. It's best that you know so you don't find out later. Please?" Kezi's eyes begged me to go.

I sighed, and then smiled. "Fine, I'll stop by tonight, you work during the day, am I right?"

"Yes, come by around seven."

"I look forward to it."


	2. Exploring the Room

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 2. Exploring the Room

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

**Authors Note: I know that the technology in A:TLA is not as advanced as it is in real life, but this is fanfiction, so I can do whatever I please. Plus, really, it has nothing to do with the story. And it's the Fire Nation, who knows what technology they have? And I'm sure I changed some things about Katara's homelife; but, again, it really has nothing to do with the story, so don't yell at me about it.**

_**Exploring**_

Kezi left after that I then went into my personal bathroom. The walls and floors were plain white, but they sparkled because they were so clean. The tub was white with a gold rim. The bathtub wasn't like on the ship though. The tub was, at least, three times bigger. I couldn't believe that I was living here. Two years ago I was living in the South Pole with my brother and grandmother in a small house… if you would even consider calling what we lived in a house. Now I am living in a palace. These were the things little girls dreamed about while they slept. But I wasn't sleeping, this was my reality.

Then I went to the opposite door I came in, and was soon in my bedroom. The carpet and ceiling were silver; the walls were just a darker shade of sky blue. I had a four post bed with a silver fabric that went around the bed, so it gave you a little more sense of privacy, and it was harder to see inside or outside, the silver fabric also covered the top of the bed. There was a wooden vanity painted silver with a slight tint of white with makeup and brushes and everything I could possibly ever need already in it, there was a desk also painted in the same color with writing supplies and everything else imaginable in it.

There was a door that I hadn't yet entered yet. It was my walk in closet. Besides the many different dresses in many different fabrics, there was a dresser with under clothes in one drawer, two drawers for skirts, two for blouses for the skirts, and one full of elegant nightgowns in many different colors. There was one wall dedicated to just a full length mirror that went across the entire wall.

My breath literally caught in my lungs. Back at home there was one bathroom that we all shared and it was so small that you could hardly walk around in it. We didn't have closets for all of us, there was one dresser and we each had a drawer for all of our clothes—which tells you how many clothes we each had. Sokka and I shared a bedroom. The walls of the house were paper thin, and it was smaller than my living quarters in the palace.

I then walked out of my closet and went to the balcony that connected to my bedroom. I opened the sliding door and was hit with a wave of intense heat so suddenly I though I would faint. I stepped outside as fast as I could, and shut the door just as fast. The palace was air conditioned and I understood why. Sure I knew that it would be a huge adjustment from living in the South Pole to living in the incredibly hot lands of the Fire Nation. They were complete and total opposites. I though I could handle it. I thought it wouldn't bother me. I was wrong.

After I finally got used to the heat I looked at my large balcony. The floor was silver looking cement that was smooth to the touch. There was a table and chairs set made out of a black metal, a couch that was set to rock back and forth with a cover over the top of it. The couch was made of a blue silk, and had pillows that were a lighter shade of blue—also made of silk. There were a few green plants, and a few strategically placed pots of pretty blue and white flowers of all types. I smiled, they really did think of everything.

I looked over my balcony at the view. I was surprised at what I saw. It was a garden surrounded by tall hedges so that it looked almost invisible, like it wasn't there, like it was a secret garden. I wondered about the garden, and thought to myself that I was going to go find it. I could see the beautiful flowers from my second story window. I looked out a little further and saw the village and the town. I saw the lake and could see the little tiny people swimming, playing in the water, jumping off the dock, and swinging off wooden swigs into the water. Close to the lake was an open field. There I saw children running around, playing games, and laughing. I started to remember playing tag games with Sokka and the other kids in the Southern Water Tribe. I remembered playing hide and seek and usually winning.

I was smiling, remembering the life I had before my brother and I found Aang in the iceberg. I was remembering how simple everything was when I heard a faint knock on the door to my sitting room. In my light pink, flowing dress, I walked back to the bedroom door that led to the sitting room. I then went to the doors to my quarters and opened the double doors.

"Prince Zuko said that these were to be delivered to your room." said the boy who was standing in front of ten men carrying the ten trunks from the ship.

I smiled. "Yes, thank you. If you could please put them in this room, it would be very much appreciated." I gestured towards the sitting room.

With that gesture, all eleven men came into my room. The one who didn't carry anything was looking around admiringly. When his eyes rested on my face, I had a look on it that clearly asked. "What are you looking at?"

"I was just thinking about how much this room has changed." He said, knowing my expression.

"What do you mean? Who used this room before me?" I asked him. Was Zuko previously married before this?

"You didn't know? No one told you?" he looked at me, my expression questioning him. "These quarters once belonged to Fire Lady Ursa. The Fire Lord specifically asked for you to be placed here. Princess Azula disagreed, because she wanted these rooms, but Fire Lord Ozai said that you were to be placed here. The one thing Princess Azula and Fire Lord Ozai didn't agree was on where you were to sleep."

"What happened to the Fire Lady?" I asked. This was the second time Ursa was mentioned in the few hours I was here, and I wanted to know what happened to her. Why did people talk about her as if she was dead?

Suddenly the guy looked nervous. His face became as white as a sheet, and his face obviously showed terror. The other men already left. "Um, I… I… I have to go now, so if you will please excuse me…" he stammered.

"Wait," I called, but he was already long gone. What happened to Fire Lady Ursa? When I knew that the guy was not coming back I sighed. Why is everyone so hell bent on making sure people don't know what happened to her?

I looked at my trunks from the ship and started to unpack all of them. Amazingly, all of the dresses fit into my already filled closet, and my make up fit into my vanity. My sheets of paper that I wrote on were put under all of the clean sheets of paper.

When I was done unpacking, I noticed the time. I had a clock on my night table right beside my bed. It had a blue silk cloth and a see-through cloth with silver swirls that was under a round glass sheet to make it look fancy. It was six o'clock. I had an hour until I was going to Kezi's house.

I ran a bath and then went to my closet and found a cotton skirt with ruffles that gave me plenty of room to move around, and a white blouse with ruffles that had blur flowers embroidered onto it. I got a red knitted sweater; and I put everything on the white wooden stool in the bathroom. When I was done with that I found some natural looking makeup to wear and some light pink lip gloss. Next I took a short bath, washing my hair and conditioning it to untangle it and make it shiny. I then got out of the tub, waterbended the water out of my hair, and put the water from my hair in the draining tub. Lastly, I got dressed, brushed my hair, put my makeup on, and headed out the doors to my quarters.


	3. Getting Used To

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 3. Getting Used To

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

_**Getting Used To**_

As I walked out my door I smiled. I could get used to this after all. It, amazingly only took me a half hour to get ready, even though it wasn't a big thing. For the first time since I knew the truth about my past, I was happy. I started down the hall that I knew led to the main entrance to the palace. Soon I saw Prince Zuko, my husband, coming towards me. I slowed down to let him catch up to me. He came up to me out of breath. I smiled. It wasn't often that I was going to see the Prince out of breath.

"We missed you at dinner." He told me in an almost angry tone.

I brushed off the anger, and hoped that he would become friendlier towards me in the future. "I wasn't hungry." I replied. I looked at him in a sympathetic way. "I also don't know where the dining room is." that was a total and complete lie. Kezi showed me where it was when she showed me around the palace, but my husband didn't need to know that. The truth was that I wasn't really ready to deal with my husband and Princess Azula. I knew Fire Lord Ozai wouldn't be there—thank god—because he never is. Kezi told me that.

"That's okay," Zuko said, starting to let down his guard and become friendlier. "I'll show you were the dining room is tomorrow, in the meantime I'll have breakfast sent up to you tomorrow."

I smiled. "Thank you." I said. I kept walking down the incredibly long hallway.

"Excuse me for asking, but where exactly are you going?" Prince Zuko wondered.

"I'm going to visit a friend." I said simply; dismissively.

"Where and who is this friend?"

"This friend of mine's name is Kezi, and she lives down by the lake. She invited me to her house earlier and I accepted the invitation, if you must know." I replied. I was getting sick of his interrogation. "I'm not going to run away if your wondering." I said, obviously reading his mind by the expression on his face.

"Why don't you?" he said, looking at me quizzically. He walked backwards, his eyes always on me.

"Why don't I what?" I asked. I stopped walking and faced him.

"Why don't you escape, why don't you run away? There is nothing here for you here; you really have no reason to stay in the palace. What's holding you back?" he asked these questions as if he knew something that I didn't.

I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it. I couldn't think of anything to say. What was keeping me from escaping? What was holding me back? I looked into his golden eyes and uttered three words: "I don't know." We held each others gaze for what felt like an eternity. Was it him? Was Zuko holding me back? Was he the reason why I wasn't going to escape? I broke our gaze. No, it can't be that. I can't have feelings for him, I can't love him. _Why can't I?_ I asked myself. I can't love him because he's our enemy. _Who's enemy?_ Aang, Sokka's and mine. I shook the voice from my head and concentrated on what was going on.

"You know, Prince Zuko, it wouldn't be such a bad thing for you to come, I doubt you get out much." I suggested in a serious voice, but meant it sort of teasingly. I smirked at him.

"I would go… but I don't want to listen to a couple of girls' gossip." He smirked right back at me.

"There you go again with your stereotyping." I muttered under my breath just loud enough for the Prince to hear.

"For the last time, I am not stereotypical." He said, becoming defensive.

"Oh yes you are." I replied. "Who said I was going to talk to Kezi about gossip? Not me, that's for sure, and I'm positive you haven't met Kezi, so she couldn't have said that…"

"Fine, I might be a little stereotypical, but just a little."

"What ever you say your highness." I said and walked away, he did the same. _Just let him chew on that for a little while._ I thought.

Then I realized something. "Zuko?" I called. He turned around. "While I'm gone, could you get someone to move the trunks out of my room?" I asked sweetly.

"Fine," was all he said.

I took that as a yes and called back, "Thank you." I then walked down the stairs and headed out the main entrance to the palace. Opening the doors came a wave of heat again, and I closed my eyes to try to escape, but it didn't work. I was going to have to get used to this heat one way or another.

"Are you alright Princess Katara?" a voice came from behind me.

I whipped my head around and saw two men who were standing on both sides of the doors. The one on the right had asked the question, so I turned to him. "Yes, I'm fine, I just have yet to get used to the weather here." I gave him a smile.

He returned it, and kept staring ahead as if someone was going to come any second. I continued walking; trying to find the road Kezi was talking about. After about five minuets I came to two men that were guarding a gate. I smiled at them, and they must have recognized me as the guards at the door did, for they let me pass too. I realized that I hadn't come in through the gates when I first arrived, and wondered where the other entrance was, and how to get to it. After a few minuets of wondering, I just let it pass as I was too tired to remember going through the gate.

It was going to take some getting used to, everyone knowing who I am, and why I'm here. I didn't like it when Gran-Gran would have friends over, and they knew all about my life before we even met; this was no different.

About ten minuets later I found the dirt road and started down it. As the lake grew closer I wondered about Kezi. Why was she so secretive about all of this? What is it that she's trying to keep secret? I came to her house and knocked on the door. Kezi answered and smiled. "Come in," she said.

I entered the small house, and Kezi gave me a tour of it. It was a decent home, better actually, than the one I lived in back at the South Pole. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Kezi offered.

"No thank you, I haven't really been hungry today." I told her.

"Okay, well Cora should be home from her friends by eight, so I have some time, but I better make this quick, I don't know what I would do if she came home early and found out about..." Kezi trailed off.

"Who is Cora?" I asked her.

We sat on the couch and she started to tell me her story.


	4. Kezi's Story

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 4. Kezi's Story

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

**Authors Note:** ******Special thanks to my only three reviewers for the last chapter: ML7 _Cora is not 'mean' she's just young_, An-Jelly-Ca _thanks for the review_, and fruit salad2 _though I'm still not sure what 'j' means_. **Kezi's past is a little bit dramatic, and quite dark. I don't go into detail about every little thing that is mentioned, but a lot of things are implied. I am foreshadowing something in this chapter; I wonder if any of you can figure out what it is…

_**Kezi's Story**_

"My mother and I wondered around a lot when I was younger. We, when I was first born, lived here, but my mother couldn't live here anymore, she said that there were too many memories. To earn money, she would do… what I was told to be inappropriate things… We lived that way for as long as I could remember, until I was about twelve. One day she told me that I was going to have a baby brother or sister. I was ecstatic; I wanted someone to look up to me in that admiring way a younger sibling looks up to their older brother or sister. I wanted some one to talk to while mother was doing… business. I wanted someone to not judge me.

I never went to school, mother never allowed me to. We didn't really stay in one place long enough for me to learn anything anyway, so she taught me at home. After awhile, she stopped. I was eager to learn, so I started teaching myself. After a long time, I learned how read, write, do complicated mathematical problems, and I knew a great deal about pregnancy.

I knew that my father had abandoned mother and me when he found out about me. I knew that he called mother a slutty tramp. Mother told me that he said didn't believe that I was his and that he thought she was lying to keep him connected to her, but she also told me that his accusations were false, and that he knew it. She said that he didn't want to be responsible for me, so he blamed some invisible person. Mother said that he left before I was born, and that if he had seen me he would have fallen in love with me instantly, and that he wouldn't have left.

I never looked for him. My father, I mean. I never felt a need to see him. I actually hated him for leaving me. I used to think about him, and what I would say to him if I did see him. The one thing my mother told me about my father was that he was a powerful firebender. One of the last things she told me was that she knew that the only way he would have ever raised me was if they got married, and my mother knew that that was never going to happen. She never told me why it wasn't going to happen, but I started to think that he was already married. But after awhile I started to think about other things, and I forgot about my father. Then mother got pregnant again, and I asked her who the father was. She told me that it didn't matter because he left her the same as my father did. I cried that night, for me and for my baby brother or sister." Kezi paused, "Do you really want to know about this?" she asked me.

I nodded. "Yes, you've already told me a lot and I think it would be better if you told me, get it off your conscience. It will help you get over the pain."

She then nodded, and continued. "Mother never told anyone but me about her second pregnancy, and I had no friends to tell, so mother and I were the only to know. I would go out and buy groceries and new clothes, or whatever we needed at the time.

Nine long months later, on my thirteenth birthday, mother went into labor. I helped deliver the baby, a girl. Mother named her Coralynn. Mother came down with a fever soon after the delivery, and it became so severe, that she died, the baby came down with the same fever, and I couldn't cure it, so the baby died also." Kezi's eyes looked at the floor, and when she looked up, I saw tears in her eyes. She laughed a little, and wiped them away. "I buried my mother and baby sister in the graveyard that was in the town that we lived in at the time.

I then realized that my mother did not quit her job as a prostitute." I looked at Kezi and she looked at me. Kezi was really angry when she said this. "I realized that the entire time she was pregnant, she was having sex!" She stopped and took a deep breath. "The regulars, the men that came all the time, came by soon after, and I knew that in order to get out of the village we lived in, I needed to earn the money, and fast…" Kezi gulped. I took her hand in mine and gave it a slight squeeze, telling her that it was alright.

"I did exactly what my mother had done, and cried all the way through every act. The sick and twisted thing was that they all liked it! They got some perverted pleasure out of my crying. Soon after I found out that I was pregnant, and I stopped. I stopped doing exactly what my mother was doing and vowed to never do it again. I was never going to have sex for money ever again.

I moved her after that, because I couldn't deal with being in the same town where my mother and baby sister were buried, and because I couldn't cope with being pregnant and alone. I found another village in a different part of the Earth Nation. The small town was run by the Fire Nation, so I was welcomed. I had a baby girl nine months later which, ironically, happened to be my fourteenth birthday. I named her after my baby sister that didn't get a chance to live. I also named her Coralynn because the two, even thought they never knew each other, had a lot in common; both were born out of wedlock, both were born to a mother who couldn't properly care for them, both were not planned, and most importantly, both my sister's and my daughter's father is unknown because the mother was a prostitute.

I vowed to make Coralynn's life the best that I could. I moved from that town, I think I didn't want any of my history to ever be traced back to me, so I kept moving. I moved here after the village where Coralynn was conceived.

The people here always gossiped about me. They thought she was my daughter since the first day I arrived here, when she was just a baby.

Not long ago, when Cora first started to talk, she called me mommy. I cried that night. I cried myself to sleep. The realization was starting to hit that I had a child. I had a little girl who depended on me to give her anything and everything that I could. It didn't start out that way at first though…

The boys in the village called me a slut, a whore, trash, any vulgar name that they could come up with. They used to come around here when Cora was just a newborn. They would try to get me to do things with them, most would succeed in it. They would hurt me if I didn't do whatever they wanted. Some even threatened to hurt Coralynn! The guy would leave as soon as he was done, while I stayed and rocked myself, keeping myself from breaking down. Eventually Cora would start to cry, and I would have the strength and energy to push the memories away. I would run to Cora and rock and bounce her in my arms as I cried. I think she knew that I was upset, and tried to comfort me. The weird thing was that when each guy would leave, they would put money on the table, each time a larger amount. For some reason, I saved the money, every last coin.

One day, a Fire Nation soldier came to my door as a guy was…using…me, someone complained of screams. The soldier hurt that guy real badly, and comforted me as I cried and rocked Coralynn. As he comforted me, I poured out my entire story, and he gave me a look, I decided that the look was just a 'poor thing' look. He was quiet for a moment after and then he finally spoke. He then told me that he would try to get me a job at the palace. A few weeks a job as a maid was offered to me, and I instantly took it. I knew that the guys wouldn't hurt me anymore if they knew I could tell someone what was going on.

Cora and I soon moved to this house, all of these houses on this dirt road are for the people that work at the palace. I got paid twenty gold pieces every week to work as a maid, and now I get thirty to work as your personal maid. To live here costs ten gold pieces every month, and schooling for Cora will be provided. She gets to learn with all of the other palace employees' children when she turns five in two years." Kezi finished her story on a positive note. Her glowing yellow cat eyes looked at me with that glimmer of hope I saw earlier, and she smiled. "You were right; it did help me get over the pain of everything that has happened to me."

"I haven't had the best life either." I told her sympathetically.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I smiled, "Maybe next time, but I should probably be going back to the palace, before my stubborn husband, Prince Zuko comes looking for me." I said and got up to head for the door.

"Katara?" Kezi asked. I turned to face the teenager. "Thanks Katara, for listening and not judging," Kezi smiled at me.

"Your welcome." I said and started to walk home. A little girl started into the house.

"Was that the Princess?" I heard the little girl ask in wonderment.

Kezi laughed, "Yes Cora, that was Princess Katara, she came to visit mommy, and I have a feeling she'll be coming back…"

I turned to face Coralynn and Kezi. I waved. "Yes. I'm coming back." I muttered to myself. "Whether my husband approves or not."


	5. The Garden

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 5. The Garden

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

**Authors Note: The nightgown that Katara wears is similar to the one Britney Spears wore in the video for "Lucky"...except, it's not almost see-through, it's just silk.**

_**The Garden**_

When I got back to the palace I went to my quarters. I noticed that the trunks were taken out of my room. I decided to get ready for bed. I went to my closet and found a new nightdress, the other one was starting to get dirty. This one was blue with white fuzzy fur at the all of the hems. I opened the silver covering around my bed and lay on top of the blue silk sheets. I tried to get to sleep, but it was too early. I was finally able to breath after coming to the fire palace.

I wasn't paying attention before, but there was something besides my clock on my nightstand. I climbed out of m bed and went over to it. There was a small box and a note. I smiled; I knew what was in the box so I went for the note first.

_Katara_

_I know I didn't do this the correct way, but here is your wedding ring._

_Zuko_

It was plain and simple, just as everything else is with Zuko. I then opened the box. Inside was a ring, just as I knew there would be. It was a white gold ring with a round diamond and on the left side was a ruby, and on the right side was a sapphire. I smiled, and took the ring out, and put it on my ring finger.

After this, I was way too awake to sleep, so I went onto my balcony. For once since I had been there, the warmth had been a relief. I had been so cold before. I was experiencing something new and different being married. I sat on my outside couch and sighed. I rocked back and forth, trying to keep from thinking about everything.

I looked out towards the garden, and got a sudden urge to find it. I walked back into my bedroom and then out of my quarters. I went out the door in my nightdress, and went around to where I thought my bedroom was. I found the tall hedges, and walked around them until I found a way in.

The flowers were beautiful. There were all kinds, probably every kind. I walked some more until I found myself in the middle of the garden. There was a fountain in the center, and I went up to it. I sat on the edge of the fountain and put my fingers in it. I played around with the water for awhile, trying to find some peace.

My whole life had been turned upside down, my parents not my parents at all. Well, my mother was always my mother, but she lied to me about who she was, who we were… who I was. She lied to me about who my father was. My whole life I believed that he was my father. My whole life I thought my father was alive, and fighting in the war. Some of it was partly true, my father was fighting in the war… but for the side I hadn't wanted to win, and he wasn't fighting anymore, he died. I thought about my brother, he wasn't even my brother by blood. We have no blood connection whatsoever. I still love him as if he was my brother. He'll still love me like I was his biological sister and not just a step-sister… right?

And that's when I felt them. There were tears running down my face. I wiped them away quickly, and continued to sit there. Only I didn't think about my mother, or my father, or Sokka. I just sat there. Suddenly, a noise broke my silence. I wiped the new tears away, and looked up.

"How did you find this garden?" Zuko asked me. He came and sat down next to me, and when he did, electricity ran though my body, and even though he wasn't directly touching me, I could feel the warmth from his body. I closed my eyes for a moment and just sat there.

"I saw it from my balcony, and I wanted to find it." I replied. What was it about the garden? Why did Zuko care how I found it?

"Oh yeah, you were put in my mother's quarters." He muttered more to himself than to me. His features softened, and he relaxed when he mentioned his mother. "This was my mother's garden, she wanted to look out from her balcony and see something beautiful, so she created this garden.

That was at least the third time I've heard about Zuko's mother. "If you wouldn't mind telling me, I was wondering what happened to your mother. I've heard about her plenty, but when I asked about her everyone changes the subject, or leaves."

The Prince stopped breathing for a moment. I was afraid he was going to lash out at me like he had lashed out on the ship not even a week ago.


	6. Zuko and Katara's Stories

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 6. Zuko and Katara's Stories

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

**Authors Note: This has some spoilers from Zuko Alone, and maybe another episode from the second season concerning Zuko's past, so I am warning you now so you can't yell at me. What happened to Ursa is a mystery to us at the moment I am writing this, and so I made up my own version as to what happened. Katara's past is also made-up, which you should have known already, but I'm telling you anyway.**

**_Zuko and Katara's Stories_**

I shut my eyes real tight and waited for him to start yelling at me.

He never did though. He took a deep breath and started talking. "My father has always hated me. He favors Azula, my sister, because she is a firebending prodigy. He says that Azula was born lucky and that I was lucky to be born. For some reason, one that doesn't even make sense to me now, I have always tried to please my father. I failed every time, never amounting to Azula's prestigious abilities. When I was trying to capture the Avatar, your friend Aang, I not only hoped to restore my honor and birthright, but I wanted my father's love.

My mother, on the other hand, had always favored me over Azula. She, aside from my Uncle, was probably the only family that I ever had that loved me. My mother was the only other person who ever saw that there was something wrong with Azula.

When Azula and I were little, Azula was always trying to make herself look superior to me… not that it took much effort on her part. I always tried to beat her at her tricks, but always seemed to fall for them in the end…

One day Uncle abandons his two-year siege of the Earth Kingdom capital, Ba Sing Se. He was grief stricken over losing his son, my cousin Lu Ten, to the war. My father took this opportunity to persuade my grandfather, then Fire Lord Azulon, to give my father the crown instead of his firstborn, my Uncle Iroh. My sister and I were spying on this conversation between my father and his father. When Ozai voiced his desire to be made heir in place of Iroh, justifying this by pointing out that Iroh's overwhelming grief and that Iroh no longer has any heirs to carry on his line. Azulon, however, was outraged that my father would suggest that Azulon betray his firstborn, in such a horrible way so soon after his son died; he said furiously that Iroh has suffered enough, but Ozai's suffering has only begun. This scared me, and I ran away, but Azula stayed and watched.

She then comes into my room as I am trying to sleep later that night. She tells me in her sadistic way that my father's punishment would be to kill his first born, which just happened to be me. My mother then came in and took Azula from the room. I muttered to myself that Azula always lies, but I was still frightened.

Later that night, my mother came in. She tells me, even though I am mostly asleep, that everything that she has done, she did for me, and instructs me not to forget who I am no matter how much things may change. I awoke the next morning and immediately remembered what had happened the night before and ran worriedly through the halls searching for Mother. I found Azula, who happily told me that my grandfather died last night.

At Azulon's funeral, the sage conducting the ceremony named Ozai the new Fire Lord, saying that Azulon's dying request was that he be succeeded by his second son.

I then knew what had happened." He looked at me for the first time since he started telling me his story. His eyes were glittering, and I knew that he was horribly close to tears. I took my hand and placed it in his. He didn't pull away; he just held my hand in his. "You know that you are the first person that I have ever told this to?" he asked. His hand held mine tightly.

I shook my head.

He sighed and told me what he was sure happened. "I know that my mother knew that my father was going to sacrifice me. I know that my father would have had no problems doing it, and even now probably wouldn't hesitate. I know my mother did what she did to protect me, but I hate that it had to come to this... My mother killed Azulon, fabricated his dying wish, and left me here. I never saw her again." I looked at him, and one lonely tear fell down the right side of his face. I wiped it away.

"My mother is gone too." I told him. "She didn't run away though, she died."

"How?" Zuko asked.

I instinctively put my hand to my neck where my necklace would be, but I soon realized that Zuko still had it. I was going to ask him for it, but I knew that now wasn't the time. "When I was eight, there was a raid in my village. A Fire Nation raid. Sokka and I were with our mother in our little house when they came. My mother told my brother and me to hide under the bed…"

I soon had tears running down my face. I wiped them away. "The Fire Nation came in and asked where all of the men from our village were, my mother honestly didn't know, they never told us for that exact reason.

But the Fire Nation didn't believe her, so they strangled her. Sokka and I couldn't see them do it, but we knew what was happening. We heard her choking for air, and we could hear her cry out when she could. Sokka held me close to him, and I cried silently, I'm sure Sokka was crying too…it was the only time I had ever seen him cry.

When the Fire Nation left, after searching the entire village, Sokka and I came out from the bed and looked at our mother. She was strangled to death, and burned so badly that we couldn't see anything or recognize her. I then started to bawl out loud because I couldn't keep silent any longer.

My father…Rokel…raised us after that; soon he had to go fight in war though, and left us with our grandmother.

Even now, I sometimes have nightmares about the night my mother died. Sometimes I am watching it from against the wall because one of the Fire Nation soldiers was holding me to the wall, sometimes it's not only my mother, but Rokel and Sokka too. Sometimes it isn't any of them, but me…"

I got up then, I couldn't stand this anymore. I ran out of the garden, and back up to my room. I didn't care that my nightdress needed to be washed, I slept in it anyway. I cried myself to sleep that night.

Not only about losing my mother, but because Zuko lost his too. We were more alike than anyone could have known.


	7. The Dream

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 7. The Dream

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

_**The Dream**_

"_Honey, I want you to have this necklace." My mother said to me as she pulled it out from a little jewelry box on her night table._

"_But why now? You have the rest of your life to give it to me…" What did my mother know that I didn't? What secret was she keeping from me? I looked at her, my mother's beautiful sapphire eyes were looking directly into my identical ones. I had always thought my mother was the most beautiful person I had ever seen; my father always used to say it, and it didn't take me long to start saying it as well._

"_My mother, your grandmother, gave me this necklace when I was about your age." Mother explained. "When she gave it to me, she said 'Lena, wear this necklace until you find the one person you are meant to be with. Wear it until you find your true love.' It was a betrothal necklace. She said that it was a family tradition for the mother to pass it on to her daughter when the mother felt it appropriate." _

_My mother touched my face and pushed the stray strands of hair out of my face. "She said, and I am going to tell you the same thing, that it is to be worn until you are going to be married, and then you wear what it is that they give you to wear. After that it is kept in a jewelry box to look at to look back upon your past. When the timing is right you should give it to your own daughter to wear until she is married."_

"_No, I can't accept it," I told her._

"_Please, I'm asking you to." She looked at me and gave me the look. It's that look people give you because they want something and they know you can't refuse the look._

_I laughed, "Fine, I accept the necklace." _

_My mother then tied the silk ribbon behind my neck. Sokka soon came in._

"_Why did you use the back door?" my mother inquired, "Didn't your father and I tell you many times not to use it unless there is an emergency?"_

"_There is an emergency mom, the Fire Nation is here." he said._

"_You aren't joking are you Sokka?" Mother asked Sokka sternly._

"_No, this isn't a—" Sokka didn't finish though. He didn't have to. We could hear the screams coming from outside. _

_Mother looked frantic. "Where's daddy?" I asked._

"_I don't know where your father is." she said in a worried tone. Someone knocked on the front door. Mother had a look on her face. It was the scariest look I have ever seen, a purely terrified, hysterical, saddened look. It made a cry erupt from me. Sokka put a hand over my mouth. I turned to him and was about to yell at him when Mother spoke. "Katara, Sokka, you don't have much time. Get under the bed, and stay there." She said._

"_What if you're in trouble?" Sokka asked a worried look escaping his expressionless face._

"_I don't care, just stay down there no matter what happens. I can't lose you. You can't lose each other." The person who knocked on the door knocked again._

"_I love you mom." Sokka said and hugged her._

"_I love you mother." I said and hugged her. _

_She kissed us both. "I love you both very much, and that is why I'm doing this. Remember that always. I love you." She said. Sokka and I just stared at her. "Hurry, you don't have much time." She muttered worriedly, motioning us to move faster. A third knock erupted from the door, only this one loudest of all._

_We crawled under the bed and put a cover over us so neither of us could be seen. I heard them walk into the bedroom in which Mother, Sokka, and I were in. I looked at my brother he was looking at me with the same worried expression on his face, I reached for his hand and he took it. I squeezed really hard, not wanting this to be happening. I tried to convince myself that this was just a dream._

"_Where are all of the men in this worthless no name village?" one man asked her._

"_I-I-I do-don't know, they-they-they don't tell th-th-the women any-anything." She stammered in fright. I winced. Mother is usually strong. She was always telling me that I should stand up to my brother and not let him boss me around. Why isn't she standing up to them? What is making her act like this? _

"_You filthy peasant, tell me where they are or you won't see your husband or children ever again." The same man said. Was there more than one? From under the warm wool blanket I couldn't tell. I looked at Sokka. He was looking at the floor._

"_I don't know, they don't tell us women anything." She repeated, more clearly this time._

"_Last chance to live." The Fire Nation soldier said warningly._

_This time mother didn't speak. The man's heavy footsteps got closer to the bed, and a shadow came over the white wool blanket. "No, don't," Mother pleaded. After that I couldn't make out what she was saying. I could hear her cries and I could hear her failed attempts to breath. I looked at Sokka and he pulled me close. We both laid there and cried silently, waiting for it to be over, and after a while, we both fell asleep._

_When it was over, and we had awoken from our sleep, we got out from under the bed and went over to what we already knew was our dead mother. We couldn't actually see the body, because after she had been tortured, the sadistic man burned her beyond recognition. I hugged her and cried, while Sokka wiped away his tears and left the room. I hugged her and cried until she became cold._

_I found Sokka outside, sitting on the step to get into our home, looking at the damage done by the Fire Nation. There were houses on slightly fire, and people—corpses—lying in the snow. I cried there with him, and we both realized that it wasn't over just yet; we still had to tell our father._

I awoke to Kezi's voice. "Katara, it's time to get up, Katara," she shook me "Sorry Princess Katara, but I was told to wake you." Kezi said obediently.

I finally opened my eyes and sat up in my bed. I asked Kezi to run a bath and pick out my clothes, which she did obediently. I sat there, wrapped in my blue silk sheets. I was scared out of my mind about the dream I had. Sure I have had nightmares regarding my mother's death. But this one was different; this one was totally real, like it was actually happening. Nothing was changed, nothing was altered… it was as if it happened last night instead of seven years ago. I shuddered at the thought.

"Your bath is ready Princess, and your clothes are sitting at the stool in the bathroom."

I snapped out of it. "Thank you Kezi, I'll be out in just a few moments, could you get out the makeup I should wear today while I'm bathing?" I asked.

"Sure thing, take all the time you need." She said.

When I was done, I sat at the chair designated for my vanity, and let Kezi do my makeup. I was more than capable of doing it myself, but she insisted.

"It's what I am paid to do, and I'd feel like a thief if I sat and did nothing while I work here, taking money from the palace…" was her reasoning.

I understood, and therefore, let her do my makeup and brush my hair.

"If you wouldn't mind me asking, why were you told to wake me up?" I asked her.

Kezi looked worried. "Well you see," she started. "Princess Azula wants to have breakfast with you." She said really fast.

I looked at Kezi.

"She's in your sitting room right now." The young maid said.

"Well, we better hurry then." I said.

Kezi continued brushing the tangles out of my hair.

"Wouldn't want to keep the Princess waiting." I muttered to myself.


	8. Speaking with Princess Azula

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 8. Speaking with Princess Azula

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

_**Speaking with Princess Azula**_

I took a breath and held it, then letting it out slowly, before I walked into my sitting room, it was a way of bracing myself to speak to my sister-in-law…who just happened to be the Fire Nation Princess. Well…the thought did send chills down my back, and I kind of felt faint for a moment, but I managed to keep myself conscious. I walked in the room with my red dress flowing behind me.

The truth was that red was not my favorite color, but Kezi said that it would probably be a good idea to wear a Fire Nation color for the first time I saw the Fire Nation Princess. I agreed with the girl after some thought on the matter, so I held my tongue, for fear of saying something about the Fire Nation, and hesitantly put on the red, flowing dress with gold embroidering.

Upon seeing the Fire Princess I almost wondered how she could possibly be so beautiful and yet so evil. She had an alluring look to her. She smiled at me, and I returned it with a smile of my own. It was partially a fake smile, and partially a genuine smile. I decided that I should have my guard up, but not fully. _Maybe,_ I found myself thinking; _maybe, she isn't as bad as Prince Zuko says she is._ I hoped she wasn't; because I really didn't feel as if I had the patience to deal with someone equally as evil, or worse, than the Fire Lord.

"Come sit," the Fire Princess said, and gestured towards the seat opposite to her. I obliged. "So this is the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe?" she said more to herself than to me. I nodded.

"Katara," I said. "Princess Katara of the Northern Water Tribe, and just recently, the Fire Nation," I said my name the formal way too, even though I knew she already knew that.

She laughed. "Well, sister-in-law, I am Azula." She said, "Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai, niece to the now retired General Iroh, brother to the just recently reclaimed Prince Zuko, granddaughter to the previous Fire Lord, Fire Lord Azulon, now passed…" she stopped, and smiled, "Well, that could go on for a long time."

I nodded again. She seemed to pick up on the fact that I wasn't really talking, and said something about it, as Kezi told me she would. "You really are too uptight for my tastes, since there is no one around to watch us, you can speak." She told me, "You don't have to be so uneasy. I don't bite."

I laughed, "Yes, I know, it's just…I'm a little nervous." I told her truthfully.

"I know what you mean, I hate public appearances." She confessed, almost appearing to be embarrassed by her confession. I was surprised, how could a person of royalty hate public appearances? Isn't it natural to be cool, calm, and collected if you are royalty? She looked at me knowingly, "I know that look." She declared.

"What look?" I asked.

"The look that you just gave me, the one about being surprised that I hate having to be watched by the public."

I just blinked. What was I supposed to do, say: "Yes, you are exactly right, that's the look I was giving you?" Yeah, um…no.

"I hate their watching my every move, trying to catch me doing something they consider to be unacceptable, and I hate the constant nagging; I hate everything about being a Princess." She complained dramatically.

"That's precisely how I feel, and I have only known that I was a Princess for less than a month." I exclaimed.

She looked at me, "It sucks doesn't it?"

I grinned, "Yes it does."

"It does get easier," she assured. I nodded, yet again. _Let's hope it does,_ I thought_, otherwise I am going to have a very uncomfortable life._

I then heard a knock on the door and got up to answer it. It was a servant, bringing the Princess and me our breakfast. I thanked him, and sat back down. Soon he left, and I was alone with the Fire Princess again.

"So how's my brother?" she asked with a knowing smirk on her face. When I didn't answer, she continued. "It's alright, I know about the arranged marriage, and the conspiracy behind it."

I looked at her, finally remembering the reason I was even in the Fire Nation willingly…well sort of. My hand instinctively went to touch the ring I got the last night. "How many…how many people actually know the full story?" I asked her. How many people knew why I was married to Prince Zuko?

"Not many actually, just my father, you, my Uncle Iroh, and me…there's someone else…oh yeah, and your husband." She told me with a teasing tone when she forgot Prince Zuko 'accidentally'.

We both started to giggle. Then we started to eat. There were pancakes, and bacon, and fruits, and everything else you would imagine to be at a breakfast for a royal family.

Before you would know it, Princess Azula and I were talking like teenage girls, discussing guys…well she was, I wasn't exactly up to that…and we talked about friends, we talked about makeup, everything. Soon Azula decided that she had to go, so I said goodbye, and she left. I sighed, and lied down on one of the couches in my room.

Kezi walked in soon after. "How was it?" she asked skeptically.

"Actually it went well." I said.

Kezi gave me a look that said "What exactly does well mean?"

"At first it was uncomfortable, but then she started to open up to me, and I did the same. We just talked." I explained further.

Kezi told me that she had the day off and that she was going home to Coralynn. I told her that it was fine with me, and that she should tell Coralynn "Hi," for me. She left, and I then decided to explore the palace. On my way out of my quarters I ran into Iroh. "Princess Katara, what I pleasant surprise." He said.

I glanced back at my door in which I just walked out of, and smirked. "Iroh, you know perfectly well that this is the door to my quarters." I said, "So if you wouldn't mind my asking, what in the world do you want?"

Iroh grinned, "Well, I just wanted to see if you were settling in, and by the looks of you, I say that you have." He started to turn around.

"Wait." I commanded. He faced me. "There's something else, I can see it in your eyes."

"Well, I was going to ask if you would go to town with Prince Zuko, I think he needs to get out of this stuffy palace."

"Well…" I didn't really want to spend the day with the Prince, but remembering that he was my husband, and that we were royalty, and that we had to go out in the public eventually…"Fine," I sighed.

"Good, he is outside the front doors to the palace waiting for you." Iroh said.

"Wait, you already asked him without knowing if I was going to agree?" I wanted to know.

"Well, yep." The retired general said happily, as if this was a good thing. Zuko's crazy Uncle walked away and I shook my head, mystified.

I walked back into my quarters and found a purse that contained money in it. Why I needed money I had no clue. Why I had it was even harder to answer. I shook the thoughts out of my mind, and I walked to the front of the palace. I once again thought about Zuko's Uncle. _Why is he so determined to get Zuko and me to spend time together? How exactly did he know what I was going to say?_


	9. Going to Town with Zuko

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 9. Going to Town with Zuko

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

_**Going to Town with Zuko**_

When I waked outside, I saw the Prince and smiled. I also saw that he was smiling as well. "You certainly take long." He muttered teasingly.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, "I just found out that I was going."

"But Uncle said that you already agreed to go…" Zuko stared, coming to a realization, "Stupid Uncle." He mumbled. He started towards the town, dragging me by my hand.

"Could you maybe, oh I don't know, SLOW DOWN?" I screamed at him.

"I'm the Prince of the Fire Nation, I will go as fast as I please." he replied. That whole I'm-the-Prince-of-the-Fire-Nation line of his was still annoying me. He continued to drag me towards the town

"Well, I'm the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe **_and_** Princess of the Fire Nation." I told him pointedly. "I also just so happened to be your wife," I paused as soon as the word came from my lips. I tried to jerk my hand away from him, but he was stronger than I was. It sounded so unfamiliar. When I remembered why I said it in the first place I continued, "So I would very much appreciate it if you would let go and slow down."

He did let go, but he didn't slow down. I ran after him, passing the guards at the gate. They smiled at me and I returned the smile, and then went after the stubborn Prince. It wouldn't have taken as long to catch up to him if I wasn't wearing the most hard to walk in, uncomfortable, high healed shoes ever made.

When I finally did catch up to him I opened my mouth to yell at him for going so fast when I fell. Of course he caught me, and for a moment we just looked into each others eyes. He looked into my sapphire ones as I looked into his golden ones. He broke the gaze when he lifted me back onto my feet.

I thanked him, and told him to please slow down.

"Fine, since you can't keep up, I will slow down." He retorted, "At least you won't fall then." He muttered the last part under his breath, but he did it loud enough to make sure I heard it.

"It's not the fast pace you were walking that made me fall, but these uncomfortable shoes." I said pointing down to the blue high healed shoes with diamonds placed in all of the right placed. "And it's not like I asked you to catch me, I would have been fine if you didn't."

He snickered, "Sure you would have…when you fell on the dirt road!"

I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it. For once, the Prince was right. We walked the rest of the way to the town without talking. I was looking at the beautiful scenery, trying to take it all in. How could such a destructive nation have such beautiful lands?

When we got to the town I could tell that everyone was talking about us. They were whispering and pointing. I don't know if it was instinct, or fear of it all that had me reach out to grab Zuko's hand, but I did, and he held it firmly. I relaxed after that and we looked around aimlessly, trying to find something of use.

We came to a merchant who was selling necklaces, and I glanced at them. There was one that stuck out. Actually it wasn't a necklace, but a chain. It was a white gold chain and, for some reason, I just liked it. I picked it up and fingered it.

"Do you want it?" came Zuko's voice from behind me. I put the chain back and nodded. I couldn't speak. "How much?" Zuko asked the merchant.

"Four silver pieces." The merchant said happily. I knew that he was ecstatic over the Fire Nation Prince actually buying something from his stand. I knew he would get a lot more business because of all this, and it made me smile. I saw Zuko hand over the money, and the merchant took it, giving Zuko the chain.

"It's yours." Zuko said, giving it over to me carefully. I took it with as much care as Zuko had given it to me. I unclasped it, took off the wedding ring that Zuko had also given me, put the ring on the chain, and fastened the chain behind my neck.

I looked at my husband with a smile on my face. "How does it look?" I wondered.

"Beautiful," Zuko uttered breathlessly. Then he turned away from me.

"Is something the matter?" I inquired.

"No, nothing is the matter," he snapped, "I have to go." He said, and then walked back toward the palace.

"Zuko!" I shouted, walking towards him, "Zuko, wait."

But he didn't turn back, he just kept walking. I sighed, and started back too. Then I realized that the only reason I was going back to the palace was because Zuko was. I didn't want to go back, I wanted to stay and explore. So I decided to just do that. I stopped and turned back the town.


	10. Kezi, Cora, and Tristan

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 10. Kezi, Cora, and Tristan

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

**Authors Note: Summer Vacation is finally here, and in celebration, here's another chapter. As an incentive to review, I'm offering to post another more interesting chapter during the weekend if I get six or more reviews. I'll also post a oneshot that I've written, and maybe let the reviewers see the first chapter of Spirit Angel (More info on that in my profile) if you let me know you want it in your review. I hope to hear from you guys...but here's more to Katara's story...**

I walked around, and looked at all of the pretty things that I saw. I knew that some of the people's only way of putting food on the table came from selling things in the town, so I ended up buying most of the pretty things I found. I came across a merchant who was selling animal whistles, and instantly I felt memories of traveling with Aang enter my mind. I ended up buying all of the different whistles.

"Excuse me Miss, but I'm selling roses, my mother's ill, and I need to get the money to buy the medicine she needs. My father's in the war, and so is brother and there is no one else to take care of my mommy… and I was wondering… would you care to buy one?" a small voice asked.

I turned around to see a little girl who couldn't have been any older than six. She held a basket that held perfectly cut roses. I smiled at the little girl, and bought six white roses. I gave her twelve gold pieces, even though the roses were twelve copper pieces. I started walking away, and I turned back just in time to see her see the money and look up. She smiled at me, and she looked so cute I smiled back. "Thank you!" I heard her call. I grinned; I had helped someone.

I then went to another person who was selling flowers, and bought a bunch of blue and white and purple ones from that lady. This lady was old and she told me that the money that was earned from selling the flowers went to her grandson whose wife was having a child. She said that they needed money. Really, I didn't know if I actually believed the story, but I wanted to believe it, so I paid the lady in gold pieces as well, instead of the silver ones she asked for. "Thank you so much Princess Katara." The old lady smiled.

I arranged the flowered into a bouquet, and carried it around with me as I walked through the town. I carried all of the things I bought in a red sack that I had bought. The sack was starting to get quit heavy so decided to go back to the palace. I was starting to leave, when a boy of about eight came up to me, following him was a teenage girl who was holding a little girl's hand as the small girl struggled to walk. I looked at the teenage girl and instantly recognized her.

"Hi," said the little boy.

"That's no way to say hello to the Princess." The teenager reprimanded the boy.

"You didn't say she was the Princess!" the boy accused, turning to the two girls. The boy had black hair, and glowing yellow eyes.

"I told you that she was my friend that I met while working at the palace," the teenager defended herself.

I finally decided to break into the argument. "Kezi, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, you know how I had to leave today?" she asked, reaching for the little boy's hand. The boy took it reluctantly and looked down at the ground and shifted his feet. The little girl on the other side of Kezi started to tug at Kezi's arm.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," the girl complained.

"Yes, honey, I know, just let me talk to the Princess," Kezi looked at her daughter. "Can you be a good girl while I do that?" Kezi asked in a sweet tone.

"Fine," the little girl unwillingly muttered.

"Yes, I remember you saying that." I said.

"Today's one of the days that I baby sit my neighbor, Marna's, little boy." Kezi explained.

"Oh, and what is the little boy's name?" I asked, looking at him.

Kezi looked at him too. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Hello Princess Katara, I'm Tristan." The little boy said.

"Hi Tristan," I replied, I then turned to the little girl. "Do you remember me?" I asked her.

"Yes, you came to my house last night." She whispered softly.

"Katara, this is my shy little daughter, Coralynn." Kezi supplied.

"Mommy, I'm really, really hungry." Coralynn grumbled.

"I'm hungry too." interjected Tristan.

"Hey," I exclaimed, "Why don't you come to the palace for lunch?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to interfere, you have yet to eat in the dinning hall with your husband." Was what Kezi said.

"Cool," was Tristan's reaction.

Cora jumped up and down "Can we mommy?" Cora wanted to know.

"Please, I don't really want to eat with him just yet," I said towards Kezi. I gave her a pleading look. "I'm still kind of nervous.

Kezi sighed in defeat. "Okay, you convinced me," she looked at Tristan and Cora. "Come on you two, were going to eat at the palace."

The two young kids squealed and laughed as they ran ahead. "Not too far!" Kezi yelled after them.


	11. Introductions and Complements

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 11. Introductions and Complements

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

_**Introductions and Complements**_

When we got to the palace, the guards—both at the gate and at the front door—shot Kezi and me weird looks. Maybe it was because Kezi was coming back to the palace where she worked, or because she was escorted by me; the Fire and Water Princess. Frankly I had suspicions as to why they gave us strange looks and hoped it was because Kezi was coming back to the palace where she worked, escorted by the Fire and Water Princess, an eight-year-old was trailing close behind us, and a three-year-old girl was stumbling all the way, while holding Kezi's hand. You have to admit, that it isn't the most normal site you have ever seen.

Once entering the palace, we walked down a marble hallway and soon ran into Prince Zuko's Uncle Iroh. He looked as surprised—if not more—than everybody else, but he was certainly more respectful.

"Princess Katara, who are your guests?" Iroh asked in a tone that made me feel almost at ease, but the entire situation I was in was making the entire thing uneasy. I couldn't figure out why, exactly, but I just wasn't comfortable in the palace yet. I hoped that would soon change.

"This is my friend Kezi…." I said as I gestured towards her. "This is Tristan, Kezi watches him while his mother works here in the palace…" I pointed towards the small boy. "And this is Coralynn, Kezi's daughter."

Cora, I soon found out, is not a very shy three-year-old. After Iroh introduced himself, she went up to him and extended her small hand. "Nice to meet you Mister." She said innocently.

Iroh chuckled. He bent down to Cora's height and shook hand with her. "Nice to meet you too, Coralynn. You can call me Uncle Iroh."

"Okay, Uncle Iroh!" she said happily.

I turned towards Kezi and she and I smiled to ton another. I then looked toward another corridor and say Prince Zuko, quietly sulking against a wall. I turned away from him. Why should I care? He ran out on me. In a town that I had never been in, and was famous in no less! Instinctively, I reached up to my neck and fingered the ring he gave me that was now suspended on a white gold chain that he bough for me.

"Iroh, could you please take Kezi, Tristan, and Coralynn into the dining hall? I have something to…" I searched for the correct words. I glanced at the sulking Prince. "… Take care of…"

Iroh and Kezi followed my gaze. They both gave me different looks. Iroh's was a look of understanding, Kezi's was a look of questions and confusion. The children were too busy running around happily to pay attention to any of us.

I shot Kezi a look that she clearly understood as one that stated: "I'll explain everything later. Just do as I ask, please?" She nodded, as if she understood.

Iroh nodded too. "Yes, I'd be delighted to escort them to the dining hall." He said while looking at Kezi, Cora, and Tristan. Then he looked at me seriously "He's been that way ever since he came back alone." Iroh gestured toward the Prince.

I started toward the Prince as the retired general, Coralynn, Kezi, and Tristan headed to the dining hall. I could hear Cora laughing as I walked.

"So what's wrong with you, Prince Zuko?" I asked when everyone was out of earshot.

"Nothing." My husband grumbled.

I raised my eyebrows and stared at him. "Really?" I asked, "Because the way you acted earlier when we were in the town was not nothing, sitting around sulking is not nothing, and this—" I pointed to him, "This is defiantly NOT nothing!" I looked right into his fiery golden eyes. In that moment I felt something I haven't ever felt, or tried not to feel, I couldn't really say. I felt something for the Prince. What it was, I didn't know, all I knew was that if I decided to explore the feeling… well let's just say that something could happen, and it would hurt those I loved the most.

"What's your point?" he asked icily, breaking me from my thoughts.

I don't know why, but his words hurt… no not so much the words, but the tone he was using with me. It was like he was trying to push me away, like he was trying to get me to do something irrational.

"I want to know what's going on with you." I replied in a barely audible whisper.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong, nothing is going on. Nothing, nothing, nothing!" he screamed. Out of his mouth came fire and I backed away out of fright.

His golden eyes were gleaming with anger and frustration, and his voice was laced with rage. Right then I was scared of him. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, and I could barely breathe. My eyes lined with tears and they started to fall down my cheeks.

Zuko noticed. "I'm—I'm—I'm sorry." He stammered. He wiped away the tears that were falling down my face. "I lost my temper again. I shouldn't have… and you had to see it twice… I'm really, really, sorry."

"It's… it's okay." I stuttered. I wiped away the tears that continued to fall. Stop crying! I commanded myself. "I'm fine."

"No. It's not okay, you aren't fine." He declared. He pulled me close to him and stroked my hair. I let him, even though I was still a little scared of him. The fear soon vanished and was replaced with comfort. I knew he wouldn't actually hurt me, even though he's come so close twice. He held me there for awhile, murmuring "I'm sorry," over and over again. He let me catch my breath.

Eventually the tears reduced to sniffles. I forced myself to calm down. I didn't want to leave Zuko's warm embrace. I actually liked having his strong arms wrapped protectively around me. A few months ago even his touch would have scared me, but now… now I wanted it, I welcomed it. It gave me a sense of security. It made me feel safe; a feeling I haven't felt in awhile.

Finally I remembered my lunch date and broke myself away from Zuko's embrace. I wiped away the already dried tears and looked at him. "Come on," I said, "we have to get to lunch. Your Uncle, Kezi, and the kids are probably wondering where we are." I gave him a warm smile.

He returned it. "Yes, we should, but isn't Kezi your personal maid?" Zuko wondered.

"Yes, but she's really nice. I like her a lot, and I don't have to pretend with her…well not a lot anyway."

"Okay, you don't have to explain that, but what's with the ten-year-old and the five-year-old?"

"Actually," I corrected, "Their eight and three…" I then proceeded to explain the entire story to Zuko. I didn't tell him all about Cora and Kezi's pasts because he didn't really need to know everything, but I told him enough to understand.

Zuko led us to the dining hall where Kezi and Iroh were discussing something of great importance… well, to them anyway… and Tristan was helping Cora eat. They had started without us because we took too long. Frankly I think Tristan thinks of himself as Coralynn's brother. They probably spend a lot of time together.

Before we entered, Zuko turned to me, looked me right in the eyes and said: "By the way… you really do look beautiful with the necklace on."

**Author's Note: Well, I got grounded...so I won't be on for awhile. God, I hate my parents right now. Please review, it'll make me feel better to see reviews after I get ungrounded...if I ever do...I hate my parents. Thanks for reading and letting me vent just now. I hope to get some reviews.**


	12. Talking and Nicknames

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 12. Talking and Nicknames

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

**Authors Note: I got ungrounded. Isn't that great? Well in celebration, here's another chapter. I should also tell you guys something so you can't go all postal on me. In this story, Azula is seriously OOC, but for a good reason. You'll find out later. You want a hint? Look in summary. 'New people with dark pasts,' includes Azula.**

_**Talking and Nicknames**_

Lunch was a complete blur. After Zuko complemented me, all I could do was think about what he said. I would constantly reach for the ring; as if I was making sure it was still there. I don't remember what we all talked about, but I do know that Iroh and Zuko were actually nice to Kezi and the kids.

I knew Iroh would be, but I wasn't sure about Zuko. I had my doubts about him for a long time. And not long ago did I find out that he was capable of human emotions, so I was still testing the waters.

After lunch Zuko took Tristan out to the field behind the palace and they played a ballgame. I took Kezi and Coralynn to my quarters. Kezi and I got the idea to give Cora a makeover, so we did so. After her makeup and hair was done we thought that Cora needed a new dress. A royal dress.

I pondered with the thought for awhile, and I finally had an idea. "Stay here." I commanded the two.

"Where are you going?" Kezi asked. I looked to see Cora twirling around like a ballerina. She was truly a beautiful little girl.

"To get Cora a royal dress." I called over my shoulder.

I knocked on the door impatiently. I heard her call "Just a moment!" and I waited, taping my feet.

When she opened the door she looked surprised to see me. "Princess Katara, what a pleasant surprise." She gushed. "Please come in." she gestured.

I nodded and came into a sitting room that looked somewhat like mine. The only difference was that this one had more red features than blue.

"Princess Azula…" I started.

She stopped me, "Please call me Zula; it's less formal that way. I hate formality."

I smiled. "Okay… Zula…" I was getting used to the name. I was not completely comfortable with the Fire Princess and would have liked to keep everything formal, but it wasn't like I could refuse. That wouldn't have looked good on my part. "You can call me Katara then." I offered.

"Actually… I wanted to give you a nickname… that is… if it's okay with you?" she wondered.

I really wasn't comfortably with it, but decided that it would be best for me to just go along with it. "That depends on the nickname." I replied sweetly.

She pondered, as if thinking up the name, but I was sure she already knew what she wanted to call me. "How about Kat?" she suggested.

I thought about it. The more I thought about it the more I actually grew fond of the name. "I like it." I exclaimed.

"Well than, Kat, why did you come here?" Zula asked. She wasn't snobby about it, quite the contrary actually.

I decided to get right to the point. "Well, my friend, Kezi, has a three-year-old daughter. Her daughter's name is Coralynn. Well, Cora is visiting the palace and Kezi and I gave her a makeover. Her hair and makeup is done anyway. I thought that she needs a new dress, one of royalty, and since she's Fire Nation, and so are you, I thought she could have one of your gowns." I explained.

"But she's three; none of my clothes would fit her." Zula pointed out, not understanding what I was asking of her just yet.

"Well, don't you have any old clothes, from when you were her age?" I asked pointedly.

She seemed to be thinking in deep thought. I wished she would hurry up. I didn't want to keep Kezi and Cora waiting, it wasn't polite.

"You know, now that you mentioned it, I think I do have some old dresses from when I was three. If I find then, she can have all of them."

"Oh no, she really only needs one…" I protested.

It was useless though. Azula went off to find the dresses saying that she had no use for them now anyway. I sat in an oddly familiar looking couch. I found myself thinking about Zuko. I wondered what he and Tristan were doing, and then I though about what he said to me earlier, before lunch.

_By the way… you really do look beautiful with the necklace on. You look beautiful… you look beautiful… you look…_

I stopped myself. I realized something. That feeling that I felt earlier when Zuko and I were together earlier… when he held me… that feeling was admiration. I know that if I continued to feel it, it would turn into something different.

It would turn into something so powerful and so strong I wondered if I would be able to handle it.

It would turn into love.


	13. Talking With Zuko

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 13. Talking with Zuko

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

_**Talking with Zuko**_

Kezi decided to take Cora and Tristan home after Azula found the dresses. Azula never showed up in person to give Kezi and Cora the dresses, she gave them to some guards. She was escorted by five—yes, I did say five—men, because someone had to carry the trunks filled with dresses. Tristan didn't want to go because he would have rather stayed with Zuko, who suddenly became his idol.

"You can visit some other time." Zuko told him.

"I don't want to visit later, I want to stay now!" Tristan wailed.

"It doesn't matter what you want, you have to go with me now." Kezi had demanded.

Tristan was not giving up that easily. Not if he could help it. "Cora gets trunks filled with dresses, but what do I get?" Tristan asked. "It's not fair."

"I'm sorry, Tris, life's not always fair. Anyway, Princess Azula gave Coralynn the dresses." Kezi defended her daughter.

"I was only going to get one," Cora put in.

"Yes, Coralynn's right, I only asked Zula for one, she wanted to give them to her." I spoke up.

"I want something too!" The eight-year-old pouted.

"Here, you can have this," Zuko offered the ball that they were playing with while Cora was getting a makeover. "It was mine when I was your age… I used to play with my fath—" Zuko stopped abruptly.

Tristan gladly took the ball. I glanced at the Prince who had a sad, longing look on his face. I knew what was bothering him, and I reached my hand to touch his. He took it. "My husband and I have some business to attend too now," I told them. Really there was no business, but I knew that Zuko couldn't handle this.

"Come on kids," Kezi called, "Cora it's almost your bedtime, and Tristan your mother is almost done with work."

"Okay!" Tristan said, grabbing Cora's hand and leading her patiently down the road toward Kezi's house.

I turned back in the direction of the palace. Zuko followed me. "Thanks," he said.

"For what?" I asked him. I knew why, but I wanted him to admit it to himself.

"For helping when I started to talk about my father." he said.

"It's alright, that's what I'm supposed to do, isn't it?" I meant it as sort of a joke, but really it wasn't. I was still getting used to being married to the guy who I was supposed to hate.

But did I really hate him? That was what was confusing me.

All the times he chased Sokka, Aang and I, he never once really hurt any of us. He even gave me the choice of coming with him. I could have refused, knowing full well what I would have been facing. He isn't completely hateful and heartless.

It's all an act he puts up, a part of me thought, he does it so he doesn't have to feel. Why doesn't he want to feel, I asked myself…what hasn't he told me? I then made it my mission to figure out what he hasn't told me.

I knew what I was getting into, but I didn't care.

"I know you don't like this, and I'm sorry that it had to happen this way, but the alternative choices were not much better…"

"It's okay," I assured him. It was another lie on my part, but who was counting?

"Stop pretending," he commanded. He was right, I was pretending, but not about hating or liking the entire arrangement. The truth was, I didn't know if I liked it or not. "I know you hate this. Being married to me…your enemy."

"I don't hate it. I don't hate being married to you. I don't even think of you as my enemy… if you were, would you have treated me this nicely?"

He gave me a skeptical look. I sighed. "Okay, the truth is, I don't hate living here, I just wish I didn't feel so bad." I confessed.

He put his arm around my shoulder. By now we were in the palace. I knew where I was going because I have been there enough times. He was leading me to my room. What was I going to do in there the rest of the day? I didn't really know, but I wasn't going to break the moment to ask.

"What do you have to feel bad about?"

"I told you about how protective Sokka can get of me after mother died… well; I know that he thinks that you kidnapped me—"

"I did kidnap you." He insisted.

I shook my head, "No you didn't; I got on willingly. You blackmailed me, yes, but you did not kidnap me."

"So what's the problem?"

"Sokka thinks you did, and when he finds out that I came on willingly, he—and Aang, probably—will think that I betrayed them." I explained. "Oh boy, when they find out that we're married… well, I'd hate to be you if Sokka finds you."

"I can handle the water tribe peasant boy." Zuko stated arrogantly.

"First off, he's my brother, so no more calling him a water tribe peasant." I told him, "Second, I'm sure you could take on Sokka under normal circumstances, but Sokka will be totally and completely enraged. It will give him an adrenaline rush that you will have a harder time beating. And third, you promised that you wouldn't kill him."

"I never said that I was going to kill him." he replied, almost looking offended at the accusation.

"I know; I just can't let it happen…not if I'm doing all of this to protect Aang."

"Why do you protect him?" Zuko asked.

"Why do I protect Aang?" I clarified, not completely understanding the question. He nodded. "Maybe because he's my friend, and I love him like a younger brother."

"You know… if your brother and the Avatar love you like you seem to love them, then they should be able to accept your decision." Zuko philosophized.

"What decision?" I asked the Prince, "The decision was already made for me, I just accepted it willingly."

"You didn't have to." He said quietly.

"You mean I didn't have to marry you?" I inquired.

"Well, you did have to marry me, it was already decided, but we could have divorced." He pointed out.

"Yeah, I suppose we could have…" I looked at him, "But honestly, how bad would that have looked, the Prince of the Fire Nation getting divorced by the Northern Water Tribe Princess that just found out she was the Northern Water Tribe Princess?" I let out a small giggle.

He laughed, "You have a point," he said, "That would have looked pretty bad." He sighed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Did you know that my father hasn't talked to me since my return? He hasn't even asked about me." Zuko looked furious, and I put my hand on his arm to keep him calm… well as calm as I could keep him.

"No, I didn't know that… I'm sorry." I said.

"It's not your fault," he said, he smiled. "You know that I actually thought he would be proud of me? That he would actually want me back? Yes, I'm heir to the throne, but all I wanted was for him to love me, but he still thinks of me as a failure."

"Zuko…" I didn't know what to think.

By then we were at the doors to my quarters. I opened them. "You can come in." I offered.

"I would accept, but, alas, I really do have business to attend to." He apologized.

"No, its okay," I said.

He started to walk away. "Zuko?" I called after him. He turned around. "You know; I don't really hate you, and that I wouldn't have done my life any other way if I could have. You do know that, right?" I told him. I didn't have to say anything. I didn't have to, but I wanted him to know.

"No, I didn't know that." he replied. "But I do know now." He then smiled and walked away.


	14. Dreams Can Be Deceiving

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 14. Dreams Can Be Deceiving

_Summary: Part 2 in the ALTCB Trilogy Katara, fearing her friends' safety, accepts her birthright and decides to be Zuko's wife and live in the Fire Nation palace. There, she meets new people with dark pasts, and a royal family with even darker secrets. ZxK_

**Authors Note: The italics part at the beginning of this chapter starts out somewhat like in my previous chapter entitled The Dream, but it does not end the same, so I suggest that you read it.**

_**Dreams Can Be Deceiving**_

I had nothing to do the rest of the day, so I decided to take a nap. I knew it would wreck my entire sleeping schedule, but I didn't care, I was tired. I got into my nightgown and snuggled under the blue and silver silk sheets. Almost instantly I was asleep.

"_I love you mother." I said and hugged her. _

_She kissed us both. "I love you both very much, and that is why I'm doing this. Remember that always. I love you." She said. Sokka and I just stared at her. "Hurry, you don't have much time." She muttered worriedly, motioning us to move faster. A third knock erupted from the door, only this one loudest of all._

_We crawled under the bed and put a cover over us so neither of us could be seen. I heard them walk into the bedroom in which Mother, Sokka, and I were in. I looked at my brother he was looking at me with the same worried expression on his face, I reached for his hand and he took it. I squeezed really hard, not wanting this to be happening. I tried to convince myself that this was just a dream._

"_Where are all of the men in this worthless no name village?" one man asked her._

"_I-I-I do-don't know, they-they-they don't tell th-th-the women any-anything." She stammered in fright. I winced. Mother is usually strong. She was always telling me that I should stand up to my brother and not let him boss me around. Why isn't she standing up to them? What is making her act like this? _

"_You filthy peasant, tell me where they are or you won't see your husband or children ever again." The same man said. Was there more than one? From under the warm wool blanket I couldn't tell. I looked at Sokka. He was looking at the floor._

"_I don't know, they don't tell us women anything." She repeated, more clearly this time._

"_Last chance to live." The Fire Nation soldier said warningly._

_This time mother didn't speak. The man's heavy footsteps got closer to the bed, and a shadow came over the white wool blanket. "No, don't," Mother pleaded. After that I couldn't make out what she was saying. I could hear her cries and I could hear her failed attempts to breath. I looked at Sokka and he pulled me close. We both laid there and cried silently, waiting for it to be over._

_After awhile, though, I couldn't take it anymore. I got out from under the bed. Sokka had tried to stop me, but I wouldn't listen to him. I had to save out mother! _

"_Get away from her!" I yelled at the man who was strangling my mother. "Get away from my mother!" I screamed. "NOW!"_

_He let go of her, and I heard her gasp for air. She made it. I knew that anything I did after this moment was worth it if my mother lived._

_But then, the man started to come over to me._

_Closer…_

_Closer…_

_Closer…_

_Now he was so close to me I could have felt his breath on my face. I didn't though, because he was wearing a mask._

"_Hmm… the peasant has a daughter." The man said._

_I was now really, really frightened. When I first got out I had no idea what I was going to do, I just knew that I had to do something. I forgot that he was killing my mother and wouldn't hesitate to kill me._

_He put his hands around my neck. I struggled like crazy, but he put his body really close to mine. He pushed me really hard against the wall of our small house._

"_No, don't," I uttered._

"_If you would have just stayed under the bed I wouldn't have hurt you, but now that you came out from under the bed…" he paused for a dramatic effect. "…I…have…to…kill…you."_

"_No," I whispered in a voice barely capable of being heard. But he heard me._

_He heard me loud and clear. "Yes." He insisted._

_He tightened the grip he held around my neck, and pulled himself closer to me and the wall._

_He squeezed real tightly, and I kept struggeling. Then, when I was almost ready to stop and give up; to let him kill me, he stopped._

"_Since you are going to die, I think you get to see my face." He told me._

"_No," I replied, "No, I don't want to see it, just finish what you started or let me go."_

"_Yes, I think you get to see my face." He said more to himself than to me._

_He started to take off his mask. I held my breath. When he took off the mask, I recognized the face…_

_It was Prince Zuko's._

_I screamed bloody murder, I screamed again, and again, and again._

My ear piercing screams awoke me. I continued to scream.

"Katara!" someone yelled.

"No," I yelled back. I recognized the voice. "Stay away from me."

"Katara, it's me, Prince Zuko, your husband." He pleaded with me. He tried to hold me still like he had when we were on his ship.

I looked him in the eyes. "You," I hated him in that moment. I hated him so much.

"Me, what?" he asked, "What did I do, Katara?"

"YOU KILLED MY MOTHER" I accused angrily.

"I what?" he inquired, confused.

"You killed her, you killed her, and then tried to kill me, but I didn't work, you didn't kill me, and now I am going to tell everyone that you are a sick, twisted, murderer."

"Katara, stop." He pleaded some more. So now he was going to beg. Now, after he killed her. He and I were sitting on my bed, and all of my sheets had been long gone.

"Don't try to stop me, everyone is going to know that you killed her, and then tried to kill me." I threatened.

"Will you listen to yourself?" he asked, losing his patience with me. "You are acting crazy!"

"Listen to yourself, trying to beg for mercy." I taunted him. "Well, it isn't going to work; I'm telling everyone that you are a cold-blooded murderer."

He pulled me close to him and I struggled against him. No way is he going to get away with this. He killed her. He took her away from me forever. He's not taking me too. "It was a dream," he said, he then hugged me and rocked me back and forth. "It was all a dream; I didn't try to kill you or kill your mother." He rested his head on top of mine and sighed. "I was only a dream, Katara,"

I finally came back down to earth. Realization set in. "Zuko?" I asked questioningly.

"What?" he gently asked as he stroked my hair. He does that a lot, I notice; stroke my hair I mean.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to accuse you of…" I couldn't tell him exactly what I had done, because I didn't want to admit it to myself that I actually did those things.

"I know you didn't, you just had a bad dream."

"It was all so real." I commented. "The dream felt like it was what had actually happened. Then I saw you, and I just thought that you killed her…my mother I mean."

"Yeah, I know. I heard you scream. I was coming to check on you, and you yelled 'No!' I started to listen, and I saw you talking to yourself. I tried to call out to you, but you wouldn't listen." Then he turned me to face him. "Could you tell me what happened in your dream?" he asked.

I paused. I've never told anyone about my dreams. Not even Sokka. "Well," I sigh. He's told me some things he probably wanted to forget, so I think I should too. "It started off as all of my dreams about my mother do. I told her that I loved her, and she said the same to Sokka and me, then she ushered us under the bed. A Fire Nation soldier came in looking for the men in the village. No one to this day knew where they went, no one told us. Well, my mother wouldn't tell him because she didn't know. The soldier tried to strangle her… that's when it started to become different." I gulped down the fear that was taking over my body. I shivered.

"It's okay, I've got you," Zuko assured me.

I smiled. I knew he would never hurt me. My dream was just that; a dream. "I got out from under the bed and yelled at him. He put down my mother who seemed to still be alive. Then he… he… he started to choke me. When I was almost dead he took off the mask that he was wearing, and the man was… he was…"

"Who was he?"

"He was you."

"Oh," Zuko sighed. "Well, that explains your little freak-out just now." Then he looked at me. "Do you, now, think that I would have even been capable of killing your mother…or more importantly, you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, I know that you would never hurt me." It sounded like an automated response, but it was also a true response. I knew he wouldn't hurt me.

"Yes, I would never hurt you." He said. He then covered me up again, and put me back to sleep.


	15. Ball Gown Shopping

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 15. Ball Gown Shopping

_Summery: Katara isn't a water peasant as Zuko seems to enjoy calling her. Her birthright entails her a lot more than that. This is the story of Katara; and how she discovered her past, controls her present, and forms her future. [Zutara_

**Authors Note: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, but I've been quite busy. But, don't fear. Part 2 will be finished (soon if I get enough reviews) and maybe I'll give you another story. Ass my profile will soon reflect, I've come up with a lot of ideas for many different things so, check it out. **

**And, important info for this chapter: The blue dress in this chapter is sort of inspired by the one that Cinderella wears.**

_**Ball Gown Shopping**_

The next morning Kezi awoke me again. This time I was not having a dream about my mother, or Zuko being the man who killed her. Kezi said that there was a hot bath ready, and that my clothes for the day were on the white stool like they were yesterday. I smiled at her and got up willingly. She started to pick out my makeup. I went into the bathroom and, indeed, there was a hot bath waiting for me.

I soaked for awhile, then shampooed my hair, and conditioned it. I washed my body, and then rested. I felt something today, like something was going to happen. I smiled. "You're just being silly, Katara," I scolded myself. "You are starting to sound like Sokka, when he has his instinctive feelings."

I then started to think of Sokka and Aang. I missed them so much, and wished that they were here. But I knew that if they were, bad things would happen.

When I was done with my bath, I dressed, and let Kezi do my hair and makeup.

"What's the occasion this time?" I wondered out loud.

"Nothing, Katara, there doesn't have to be a reason for me to wake you up." Kezi smiled.

"Oh, yes, there does. I don't want to have to sit around all day doing nothing any longer than I have to." I complained.

"You don't have to." She replied happily.

"Why are you so perky today?" I demanded in a fake grumpy tone.

"Oh, no reason… just that there is a ball in three days, and you have to start getting ready for it."

"What do you mean, a ball?" I wondered.

"Oh, you know, the ones where you get all dressed up, and dance, and have lots of fun…" Kezi stopped combing my hair. I looked in the mirror at the mirror image of my friend. She looked like she was in some other world.

I laughed. "Stop daydreaming, and do my hair."

"Fine, fine, but Iroh is taking you shopping to find the most perfect ball gown." Kezi informed me.

I jumped out of the chair, which made her yank my hair. "Ow," I muttered under my breath. Out loud, to Kezi, I protested, "But I have plenty of dresses, why can't I just wear one of those?"

Kezi explained: "Because those are simply dresses, they are good for ever occasion… except a ball. If you have to go to a ball, you have to get a ball gown."

I sighed. "Oh, fine, whatever." I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere arguing, so I decided to just go along with it.

I should have just protested the entire thing. I didn't want to go shopping, because my husband—the same one who ran off on me last time I want shopping—came.

Why? You might be asking. Well, why else would he go shopping? Because his Uncle asked him to go, and Zuko never says no to his Uncle.

The shopping trip went fine until we were shopping for my ball gown. First we had to find Zuko a tuxedo. It was actually quite fun, because Prince Zuko does not look like himself when he is in a tux.

"What's so funny?" he had grumbled when he came out in one with black pants, a red shirt, a black bow, and a black jacket.

"Oh, nothing, just you." I told him nonchalantly.

"What do you mean me?"

"Well, I have never seen you in a tux before," I started, "And, well… you don't look like yourself."

"I think he looks handsome." Iroh put in.

"Katara's right, I look hideous."

"I never said that, all I said was that you didn't look like yourself." The truth was, Zuko didn't look hideous; he looked somewhat—like his Uncle said—handsome.

"Whatever." Was his response.

Well, when we walked into a shop that was selling ball gowns, Iroh had me try on a red one. I didn't want to; because I knew it wouldn't work just yet. I was still not completely adjusted to being in the Fire Nation, and wearing red was still uncomfortable most of the time.

I tried it on anyway, and I was right, it didn't look right. I showed Iroh and Zuko anyway, and Iroh agreed, only he didn't flat out say it was ugly on me. He said something a little less blunt.

"You were right, Katara, that doesn't seem to be the perfect ball gown, does it Zuko?"

"No," he muttered.

For a moment, I was insulted, but then I had a smile on my face. "Oh, don't mind him, he's just angry, because of the tuxedo comment I made earlier."

"I am not." He shouted.

"Prince Zuko, control your temper." Iroh advised.

Zuko took a deep breath and sat back down on a chair that was conveniently by him.

I then tried on a blue dress that I saw. It had a sort of fishnet material with sparkles on it. When I got on the dress, I knew it was the one.

"I'd show you it, but I don't want to ruin the surprise." I hollered to the two.

"Is it the one?" Iroh hollered back.

"The one what?" I heard Zuko ask his Uncle.

"The perfect dress." Iroh responded.

"Yes, it's perfect!" I smiled and turned around in the full length mirror.

"Okay, hurry up then, so we can go home." Zuko muttered.

I sighed. Did my husband ever have fun? I took a long time, and when I came out, only Iroh was standing there waiting for me. He paid for the dress, and I asked, "Where did Zuko go?"

"He left." Iroh said simply.

"Oh, I figured." I looked at Iroh. "He doesn't like shopping very much, does he?"

"No, his mother used to take him, but since she died… well, Zuko hasn't really cared for it."

I understood. "Mmm-Hmm" I closed my eyes and whispered.

"He loves you, you know." Iroh said as we walked back to the palace.

"Who, Zuko?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"No, he doesn't, he couldn't love me."

"Why couldn't he?" inquired Iroh.

"It wasn't part of the deal." I muttered.

"What deal? I don't remember any deal?" the retired general looked confused, but his eyes told me that he knew something.

"The deal that I would agree to marry him!" I said dramatically. "I never agreed to let him love me, or to…"

"To what?"

"It's nothing." I replied quickly. Too quickly.

"If it was nothing, you wouldn't have mentioned it in the first place." Iroh pointed out truthfully. How did the old man get to be so smart?

"I don't want to talk about it." I told him.

"You brought it up, so now you have to tell Me." he insisted.

"Please, I don't want to say it." I begged.

He gave me a look that said that I should tell him.

"To fall in love with him too." I said sadly.

"Have you?" he asked.

I didn't answer. I didn't want to, but I knew that I would have to eventually. The question was: Was I in love with Zuko? Or would I just rather that, as opposed to being in a loveless marriage?


	16. Reasons and Fathers

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 16. Reasons and Fathers

_Summery: Katara isn't a water peasant as Zuko seems to enjoy calling her. Her birthright entails her a lot more than that. This is the story of Katara; and how she discovered her past, controls her present, and forms her future. [Zutara_

_**Reasons and Fathers**_

After we got back from shopping I went to my room. I was upset with myself.

I was upset because I was letting myself have feelings for the Prince, my husband. When I got in my sitting room I put the box that held my dress on a couch. "Grrr!" I screamed.

I heard a door open. It was the one leading to my bedroom. "Are you okay, Princess Katara?" Kezi wondered.

I nodded, "Yeah, just peachy." I muttered sarcastically.

Kezi sat next to me on one of the couches. "What's going on with you and the Prince?" she asked. "Are you two having marital problems this early on in the marriage?"

I sighed in frustration. "You could say that." I looked at her. "The only reason he and I are married is because his father set it up so he could get my land."

"Are you sure? Maybe he saw that the two of you like each other?"

"I am completely sure that he did not see that Zuko and I like each other, before I came here, I was helping Aang—the Avatar—to learn waterbending and we were trying to find an earthbending and firebending master to teach him. Prince Zuko, was chasing us, trying to take Aang away to the Fire Nation so they can, I just found out, execute him. I hated the stupid Prince." I explained.

"Past tense." Kezi pointed out.

"That's the problem. Sokka, my brother who was also traveling with Aang and me, and Aang will be furious when the find out about the marriage, and even more so if the know that I actually love him." I wailed. "That's why I can't love Zuko. It'd be the ultimate betrayal to Aang and Sokka, and I can't do that to them."

"What happened in town the other day?" Kezi wanted to know.

"I made five mistakes today. This is the story: Well…I took Zuko into town—mistake number one—because Iroh asked me to. I looked at jewelry—mistake number two—and liked a white gold chain," I fingered the chain suspending the ring. "It's the one I'm wearing now. Zuko asked if I wanted it and I nodded—mistake number three—he bought it. I took off the wedding ring that he had given me the night before and strung it on the chain—mistake number four—I then turned to Zuko and smiled. I asked him how I looked—and that made mistake number five—well, Zuko got scared and ran." I enlightened her in a fake happy voice.

"Okay, yeah, that sucks." My friend said.

"I know, but for two reasons. One, the obvious, I pissed him off, and two, I started to change the feelings I had held for him all those months before."

"Do you love him?" Kezi inquired.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I blurted out.

"He _is_ your husband." She pointed out.

"I know, but the marriage was set in motion before I even knew that I could have married him. We were married before I even knew that I had to marry him. The only reason I went through with it is because the alternative would have been my friend's death."

"The Avatar?"

"The Avatar." I clarified.

"Why can't you love him?" she asked.

"Why can't I love him?" I said, "Let me think, for starters, he was my friends enemy, my brother hates all Fire Nation—benders especially—even though my father knows my mother's past I'm real sure that he wouldn't approve of my marriage to the nation who killed my mother's Prince… need I go on?"

"Okay, here's what I think," Kezi started. "I think you are afraid to love him; maybe it has to do with your past, I don't know, but from what you told me, all of the reasons have nothing to do with you. Aang—that's his name right the Avatar—well, Aang might be your friend, and Prince Zuko might be or was his enemy, but does that make him your enemy? Your brother might hate all Fire Nation benders, but does that make you hate all Fire Nation benders? Your father probably hates firebenders for good reason, and the fact that they killed your mother makes this one almost a valid reason, but… Prince Zuko did not kill your mother. So does that mean you can't love him?"

"You don't know the whole story…" I protested.

"Of what?" she demanded, "Of Selena?"

"Of my mother, yes. Do you know what happened to her?"

"Actually, yes, I do." she told me. "Your mother was the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe. She fell in love with a peasant from the Fire Nation. The peasant from the Fire Nation went off to war, leaving Selena with a baby. He never came back. Selena married a waterbender and they ran off to the South Pole."

"Does everyone know?" I asked.

"Yes, everyone knows." She said quietly.

"All the more reason for me to not love Zuko." I pointed out.

"Correction: All the more reason _for_ you to love Zuko." Kezi was really pushing this.

"But my mother—"

Kezi cut me off "Your mother fell in love with a man from the Fire Nation. She had you. You _are_ part Fire Nation."

"I know, I know, I know, but my father—"

She cut me of again. "Your father will love you no matter what you do. If he doesn't, than he isn't worth it."

I spent a few minutes thinking about everything Kezi said. "You're right," I stated. "None of the reasons I gave you have anything to do with the matter at hand." I sighed, "And you were also right about the fact that I am afraid to love him. I keep thinking that my brother will turn my back on me and he won't love me anymore."

"Your brother should love you no matter what you choose to do."

I was about to respond when there was a knock on the door. "Kat, Kat, I need to talk to you." Azula called.

"Could you get that?" I asked Kezi.

"Yes, I will." Kezi said.

I looked over my outfit to make sure there was nothing out of place. There wasn't.

When Kezi opened the door Azula stopped. Azula looked as if she had seen a ghost. "Is something wrong Princess Azula?" Kezi asked politely.

Azula came back to earth. "No, nothing's wrong, you just look like someone I know." She looked at me. "I need to speak to Princess Katara alone, if you wouldn't mind."

"Yes, Princess," Kezi dismissed herself and stepped out the door.

"What was that all about, Zula? You looked as white as a sheet." I wanted to know.

"Have you seen her… does she have…" she couldn't seem to get the right words to form a sentence. "Do you know who her father and mother are?"

"Who, Kezi's?"

"The girl I gave all of the dresses to? Doesn't she seem kind of young to have children?"

"Yes, I know, and her past is a little bit morbid, so I won't go into it, but are you talking about Kezi's parents?"

"Yes, Kezi, the maid's."

"Well, her mother died when Kezi was young. Kezi never knew her father, he didn't want Kezi. The few things she found out about him were that he was most likely already married to someone who wasn't her mother and that he was a powerful firebender." I looked at the Fire Princess with a quizzical look. "What does this have to do with anything?" She didn't answer. "Zula?"

"I think I—I—I think I know who her father is." she uttered, a serious look taking over her face.

**Author's Note: Sorry about the cliffhanger, but it's necessary, and it's where I left off. ******** If you want the next chapter, review. It's really as simple as that!**


	17. Telling Truths and Taking Sides

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 17. Telling Truths and Taking Sides

_Summery: Katara isn't a water peasant as Zuko seems to enjoy calling her. Her birthright entails her a lot more than that. This is the story of Katara; and how she discovered her past, controls her present, and forms her future. [Zutara_

**Authors Note: I am changing some parts to Azula's childhood; so don't yell at me for it. I needed to do this to make the story work. Thanks for understanding, hopefully anyway. And I don't know Azula's age, so I made it up. She is 15.**

_**Telling Truths and Taking Sides**_

"What do you mean you know who her father is; her mother never told anyone, not even Kezi?" I was confused. Could she really know, or is she playing some really sick joke? What would she have to gain by making Kezi think she has a father, a relative?

"When she was first born, where did she… where did she live?" Azula wanted to know. It was almost as if she was in a trance, she was so distant.

"Here, in the Fire Nation lands, in the village." I told her.

"Oh my, this can't be happening." Azula cried. "I know, I really, really, know who her father is."

"How can you know that with the little information I gave you, Zula?" I was so confused. It was impossible to know. "Of all the men here, how could you know? There are too many of them."

"Because only one of them was my father, and only one of them—that I knew of—was having an affair." She looked down; I could see the tears brewing in her eyes. "Zuko and my mother, she knew of my father's affair. She just didn't have the proof to accuse him of it. She never told me of the problems, but later, when I was thirteen, I would listen in on my mother and father's arguments—I was kind of a sick child at the time—my father would yell cruel things at my mother, and she would yell things back. She was not one to keep her comments to herself.

'I have told you many times not to talk with the generals.' My father would yell at my mother.

'What?' she would ask, 'So am I supposed to sit in here and do nothing until you come back?'

'That would be a nice change of pace.' He would reply.

'Why? It's not like we do anything anyway. To me, it seems, you seem to not want anything anymore.' She would accuse.

'What are you implying?' he would ask slowly, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was.

But it always was. 'Are you screwing around with another woman?' she always wanted to know, 'Is that why you don't seem to want me anymore?'

He never answered her, and she always knew. I never told Zuko, which was strange, because I always like to tell him what our father and mother would accuse each other of. I never told him because he looked up to them—mother especially—so much, I didn't want to spoil the image he had made of them."

"You were right to keep it a secret; Zuko had set high standards for his parents." I told her. She nodded.

After listening to Azula's story, I called in Kezi.

"What do you need me to do, Princess Katara, and Princess Azula?" she asked in her maid like way.

"Kezi, we have to talk to you, there's something we have to tell you…" This was hard. I remembered how I felt when I learned the truth about my parents, so I knew that this was going to be just as hard—if not harder—on her.

"Azula and I were talking earlier, and she asked about your parents…" I really didn't want to tell her about this, I didn't think she needed to hear it from me, but someone should tell her, and I knew we wouldn't be able to get Fire Lord Ozai to tell it to her. "I told her just the simple things." I added when she gave me a terrified look. "She asked about what you knew of your father, and I told her that you had suspicions that he was already married and that you knew that he was a powerful bender. She asked where you lived when you were first born, and I said that you lived her."

"I put some pieces together from my childhood and came up with an answer." Azula put in, trying to take the heat off of me.

"Well, she said that she knew who your father was, so I asked her how she knew, and she told me that—"

"Only one of them was my father, and only one of them—that I knew of—was having an affair." Azula repeated the sentence she said from earlier.

"My father—my father is the Fire Lord?" Kezi stuttered. Her yellow cat eyes were confused and fearful.

"Don't you see the resemblance?" Zula asked. "You both have the golden yellow eyes that look so much like a cat's would, the same ones that I alsomhave, and you both have straight black hair…"

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Kezi kept repeating. "No, no, no, no, no, this can't be happening, Ozai can't possibly be my father… but he could, and he is…"

"It's okay," I comforted her; "Everything will be fine."

"How can you say that? My father is the Fire Lord! The person who is responsible for the war that has torn apart so many families!" she shook her head as if trying to forget. "My daughter's grandfather is… No, this can't be."

"I'm afraid it is." Zula said. Zula then gave me a look. At first I didn't pick up on the meaning, but after a few moments to understand it, I got the message. "I need to talk to you… privately," was what she was trying to say. I nodded ever so slightly toward her.

I saw the scared look in the young maid's eyes, "Kezi, why don't you go in my room and lie down for a bit?" I suggested.

"In your… in your bed?" she asked. "Why, I couldn't."

"I'm telling you to, so could you please?" I requested. "I—I need to speak to Princess Azula alone for a bit."

"Okay, I will." Kezi relented. She went back into my room silently.

"What is it, Zula?" I asked in an almost excited tone.

"I just thought of something." She told me.

"What?" I begged.

"Well, in the Fire Nation, if you are married—like my father was to my mother—and the husband or wife suspects the other is cheating—like my mother did—then if you get proof of the affair, the person found guilty can be punished." She explained. "If the Fire Lord is found cheating on his wife, he will be replaced by his next heir…who is…"

Realization dawned on me quickly. "Zuko." I muttered.

The only thing was, how did we bring this up? We couldn't very well just walk up to the Fire Lord and say, "We know you cheated on your wife seventeen years ago. We know because you and the person you had an affair with had a baby girl, who actually worked at the palace, and we found out about it and are now going to take the throne away from you." Yeah, uh, no. Not going to go over very well.

"I have to tell Zuko." I said and started to go to the door.

"No!" Azula shrieked. "Kat! You can't do that." she ran ahead of me and stood in front of the door.

"Move Azula, I have to tell him, he'd want to know."

"Yes, I know, but if you tell him, he'll go and tell our father, and if that happens…" she trailed off. I knew what she meant.

"I know, but he has a right to know!"

"Yes, he does, but we can tell him later, first we need to come up with a plan." Zula insisted.

I backed away from the door, surrendering to her. I went to the middle couch and sat down. I groaned in frustration. "I didn't sign on for this." I complained. "I said I'd be Zuko's wife, I never said that I would get involved in the family dramas."

Azula let out a small smile. "Unfortunately, I think it comes with the territory. You are family now."

I looked at her for a minute. I was trying to see what, exactly, was her reaction was to this news. Was she happy that her father was going to be forced to resign? Was she mad that Zuko was going to take the throne when he did? Was she even the least bit resentful toward her brother? I couldn't read her.

"Is there—is there something you'd like to ask?" Azula wondered when she noticed my staring.

"No…well, kind of…yes." I admitted.

"Well, than ask."

"Zuko told me things about when you and him were children, and he said that you were in favor of Ozai taking the throne." I confessed. "I was wondering, do you feel the same way now? Do you really think that it is in the best interest of all the nations for your father to continue his reign?"

Azula remained silent for a while. Neither of us talked. Neither of us moved. Azula broke the moment of silence. "When I was younger, all I cared about was death and destruction; I was a sadistic child, some might say. I liked how my father favored me over Zuko—his first born, his heir—and I liked to taunt my brother about it, rubbing it in his face that I was better than he was.

When I got a little older, actually when I turned fifteen, which is how old I am now, Zuko had been gone for two years, and I had no one to taunt. I started to think more about the boys around the palace. At first it was enthralling, they were nice, and rich, and bought me everything I asked them for. But after awhile, they got old, like a toy, which is basically what they were. I started to like this boy, Stone was his name; the only problem was that he was a low-class citizen. I started hanging out with him a lot. He and I became friends very fast, and before I knew it, we were dating. After a while—two weeks and five days, to be exact—my father found out.

He didn't approve of Stone because he wasn't a nobleman. He tried to tell me that he was no good for me and that I deserved someone of higher-class, but I refused to listen to reason. My father—the sadistic man that he is—decided that Stone needed to go out to war. He knew that Stone's parents didn't have all that much money, and they didn't get him military training. He knew that if Stone went out to war, he would die…" Azula was trembling really badly.

I took her hand in mine. "It's okay," I comforted her.

"No, it's not, and it wasn't then either." She insisted. She wiped away the tears that had fallen down her face. "I begged for my father to revoke his decision to make Stone go to war. I pleaded, and cried, and did everything I could possibly think of, but he just said that my begging and pleading and crying were signs of weakness, and I needed to toughen up." She sniffled. More tears fell down her face, and she wiped them away.

"Stone and I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. He left, and he hasn't been seen from since. I don't think he's dead, because I think I would feel it. All I can feel is that he's in trouble, and I sense that he's hurt." She stopped.

"He'll be okay," I said. "When we tell Ozai that we know about his affair, and Zuko takes the throne, the war will be stopped, and Stone will come back."

"What if Stone doesn't have that kind of time?" she asked brokenheartedly. "What if the people who have him kill him before we end the war?"

"It won't happen." I said. I was trying to be strong, but I felt the same way for many people, and couldn't help from wondering the same things sometimes. What if Zhao catches Aang and kills him before we end this war? What would happen to Sokka if that were to happen? What happened to my father?

"I loved him." Azula muttered. "I still love him."

"I'm sure he loves you too."

Azula sighed and continued with her story. "After about three weeks of waiting for him to return, I knew that he wasn't going to. It was early, yes I know, but I just had this feeling that he wouldn't come back…not unless the war ended. I asked one of the generals what became of the fifty-sixth division, Stone's division, but he said that he didn't know. I cried myself to sleep that night. I cried every night since.

It was then that I knew something. My father was not to be admired. I started to hate myself for believing that he was to good guy in all of this. I knew that Zuko and my mother had been right when she tried to tell me that death and destruction was not a good thing. I realized that I should not support my father.

But I didn't want to end up like my brother. I didn't want to be banished like Zuko was, so I kept silent. I didn't let anyone know that I didn't support my father anymore. I started to busy myself with other things, only to think about Stone when I was alone in my bedroom."

She laughed a little bit. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but sometimes I talk to the air as if Stone was still there. Sometimes I feel as if he is here with me. And I smile every single time I think about him.

Anyway, I let everyone believe that I forgot about Stone. I let them think that Stone never meant anything to me. I let my father believe that I still supported him. I let Ozai believe that I still wanted him to rule the world. And he continued to favor me, continued to think of Zuko as worthless, and unimportant.

At night, when I went to bed, sometimes I would throw up, because of all the lies I told everyone.

'I'm glad you don't like that worthless piece of scum anymore.' My father would say to me.

'Yeah, he was so not for me. I should have known not to fall in love with someone so unimportant.' I would agree.

It was all so unreal to me. I was putting on an act to the entire world, and no one even knew. No one noticed the change in me. No one even asked. I don't think anyone even wondered why I wasn't being myself. I think they were all just glad that I wasn't biting off everyone's heads every chance I got. I hated myself for not telling everyone how I felt about Stone, but I didn't want to end up like my brother, so I kept silent. I guess, I kind of am a double agent. I let everyone think I work for my father, in ruling the world, but all I want is to see Stone again, and have this war over with." I was quiet for a moment, waiting for her to finish, but I soon realized that she was finished.

"Don't worry, it will all be over soon, and we can get some people to look for Stone once the word gets out that the war is over." I told her.

She smiled and nodded. Then her face became real serious. "I was wondering…when the war is over, and Ozai is no longer a threat, you have no reason to stay here." Azula said. "When Zuko becomes Fire Lord, are you going to stay by his side and be Fire Lady, or are you going back to your home?"

"I—I—I don't know." I uttered. The truth was, I never even thought about that. I knew I should go back home with Sokka, but there was something that made me want to stay. "I—I think I'll stay here." I told her.

"Good, because I want you to stay to meet Stone when we bring him back." She said excitedly.

"I'd love to meet him; he sounds like a good guy." I told her.

"Great!" she said.

"Tell me about him." I demanded. I was feeling like we had known each other forever. It was a nice feeling. I decided to let myself feel it.

"He had these golden green eyes, and dark, almost black, hair. You see, Stone's father's mother was an earthbender. She married a firebender, Stone's grandfather, they had Stone's father, and he and Stone's mother had him. Stone's father showed no sign of being part a part earthbender. Stone, however, did. I was the only person he had ever told about why his eyes had a green glint to them, and why his hair was just a shade lighter than black.

He is kind, and sweet, and generous. He worked at the free clinic in the village. He is so nice and loving…" She went on and on about Stone, and I let her. I knew that she hasn't really had anybody she could tell about these things…not if her father disapproved of the guy.

After she was done, I felt as if I had known the guy. I looked at her, and noticed something. She kept her hands on her stomach most of the entire time we were talking. I didn't want to ask her what I was thinking, but my curiosity got to me.

"Zula, did you ever go to bed with him?" I asked finally.


	18. Confessions and Questions

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 18. Confessions and Questions

_Summery: Part 2 of 2: Katara, fearing for her friends' lives, makes a hard decision, and decides to live with Zuko in the Fire Nation as his Fire Nation Princess. There, she meets many people with dark pasts, and a Royal Family with even darker secrets. :ZxK:_

_**Confessions and Questions**_

Princess Azula instantly looked down at the ground. I was surprised, I thought that it was possible, but I didn't think it would have actually happened between them. I then thought about Zuko and me. I never would have thought that we would happen, but we did. So, really, Azula and Stone wasn't much to be surprised about. But it still came as such a shock.

"It was just one time; two days before he left, one day before he was told that he was going to go. I knew it was wrong, we were not going to get married, but at the time it felt so right. Now that I think about it, it was kind of like our goodbye…" she trailed off, and I could see the tears start to tumble across her face again.

"Did you get—" I didn't want to say the actual word.

"Yes, and I am, and as of yesterday, a month along." she said. "And now I am going to have to hide it."

"You can't possibly hide it forever." I exclaimed.

"That's what I thought before, but now it doesn't matter." she said.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" I inquired, "When your father finds out, he'll… he might banish you, and you'll have to raise him or her on your own."

"He won't be Fire Lord by the time it'd be too noticeable to hide." She pointed out.

"Well, then, we'd better get to thinking of a plan." I said.

And we did. We discussed it over lunch, and after lunch, we had come up with a plan that would get the Fire Lord off the throne, and Zuko on it. With the combined efforts of Azula, Kezi, and me, we came up with an almost-flawless plan.

The next morning, I was allowed to sleep in. When I finally did get up, I realized that I had slept most of the day away. It was five in the afternoon. I didn't remember getting up ever, and wondered why I had slept so long. I went to find Kezi and ask her why she wasn't there to wake me up, but she wasn't there. She wasn't at the palace at all.

I raced down to her house to see if she was sick or something.

Or something was what it was. Tristan opened the door, Coralynn following him. "Is Kezi here?" I asked.

"She doesn't want to talk to people." Tristan announced.

"I have to see her." I insisted. Now it wasn't about waking up at five in the afternoon, but Kezi.

"Tristan, you know who she is, you have to let her see mommy." Coralynn told him. Cora still seemed to be dazzeled by the fact that I was a princess. Little does she know that she is one too.

Tristan relented. "Fine, she's in the bedroom." He said, and told me how to get there.

When I opened the door, Kezi was moving around her room swiftly, packing up everything in it. It was as if she was leaving. She was making whimpering noises. "Kezi, it's me, Katara, what's going on?"

"Why don't you take a guess?" she retorted.

"Kezi, we need you, Azula and I need you to stay here."

"Why?" she asked. "So everyone can find out?"

I sighed. "It won't come to that." I promised.

"Do you promise?"

"Unless you want it to come out that you are a princess, and that your daughter is a princess, it won't come out. I promise." I said.

Kezi started to take things out of the suitcases. "How am I going to tell Cora that the man who was responsible for continuing this war is her grandfather?" she asked me.

"Don't tell her." I replied simply.

"How can I not?" she whimpered, "She's going to find out eventually, wouldn't she rather hear it from me, her mother?"

"Yes, if you want your secret to come out, you'll have to tell her, but tell her more about the relatives you have that are good. Tell her about the good people who have helped, like your half-brother, who when our plan is taken out," I saw the look on her face. "Not publicly," I added, "Will become the Fire Lord, and will end this war. Tell her about your Uncle, who is the nicest man alive, but most of all, tell her about your mother, not the bad things, but the good things." I advised.

Kezi stopped the tears from rolling down her face, and smiled. "Yes, I think I will take you up on that advice."

"Okay, than you'll stay?" I asked. "You helped out with this plan, so you have to be here when we carry it out. You are our secret weapon, the piece of the proverbial puzzle that will end this war. We need you, Kezi! So will you stay?"

She nodded.

"Good," I smiled, "Because this can't work without you."


	19. In His Arms

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 19. In His Arms

_Summery: Katara isn't a water peasant as Zuko seems to enjoy calling her. Her birthright entails her a lot more than that. This is the story of Katara; and how she discovered her past, controls her present, and forms her future. [Zutara_

**Author's Note: ****I was very disappointed with the number of reviews I got for the last chapter. Though I do want to thank those that did, I want to say that I expect a drastic change in the number that reviewed. 30 people have this story alerted, so I expect more than half those to review. And everyone else who has a comment, please review. You will get updates _WAY_ sooner if you do review. And now that my rant is dome, enjoy chapter 19!!! **

_**In His Arms **_

After telling Kezi about the plan over dinner, which was the only meal I had that day, and playing with Tristan and Coralynn, I went back to the palace. I got a not so pleasant surprise when I came back. "Where were you today?" Zuko asked as soon as I came in the door. "I was looking for you all day, and I couldn't find you anywhere." He screamed.

"What do you mean where was I today?" I shouted back. After all of the drama in the past day and a half I was fed up with everyone, and unfortunately for Zuko, he was the one I lashed out at.

His eyes drifted all over, and mine followed. People were watching. "Let's not do this here." he pleaded.

"You were the one who freaked out on me!" I accused. My tone was loud, so everyone could hear.

"Not here." he said through clenched teeth, pausing before both words.

"And, where exactly, do you suppose we do this at?" I asked.

He gave no response, just took my arm and led me down some corridors. "Let me go!" I demanded, but, of course, he didn't do as I asked. He opened a door and we entered. "Let me go," I said again. I noticed that we were in a sitting room, why a guy needed one was beyond me. He opened another door, and we were in his bedroom. He didn't give me much time to look at the décor, but, from what I saw, it was fit for the Fire Prince. He finally let go of me, only to push me down onto his bed.

I struggled to get off, but he took his hands and put them over my wrists, holding me down firmly. I tried to move away, but wasn't able to. I stopped submissively, and looked into his eyes. They were not calm, nor friendly. No, his eyes were full of pure rage.

I realized where exactly I was—in the Fire Nation Prince's bed, where no one could hear my screams—and it was in that moment that I felt something I had never felt around the Fire Prince, not in a long time anyway.

Fear, I felt fear. There were so many things he could do to me at that moment, and there wasn't a singe thing I could do to stop it. I let out a soft cry, and closed my eyes. I didn't want to open them, because I was afraid of what I would witness. I didn't want to look at him, for fear of what I would see. I figured as long as I couldn't see anything, I was safe. But Zuko, apparently, didn't like the fact that I had my eyes closed.

Closing my eyes was not the best of moves that I could have made, not only did I make him mad, but I started to remember the night on the ship.

"_We just came down to have some fun, what do you say?"_

"Open your eyes." He asked in a neutral tone. I struggled against him again. I couldn't let it happen…I fought it off once, but could a person be lucky enough to fight off attacks twice? No, I didn't think so.

"_Stop fighting, it will only get worse."_

I didn't even think to do so; I just shut them tighter, and pursed my lips.

"_Poor pathetic Princess."_

"Look at me!" he demanded in a slightly louder tone.

Again, I didn't respond. I was too afraid. Instead I whimpered.

He sighed, and let go of my hands. I felt the weight on the bed shift, and he was sitting on the far side of the bed. I still had my eyes close. I moved my legs and curled up in a ball. I started to cry silently as he talked.

"I'm sorry, I lost my temper with you again." He sounded sort of…apologetic.

"It's—it's—it's okay." I choked out between sobs.

"No, it's not. You're crying." He insisted, and I let out another cry. "I promise you that I will not do it again, never."

"You can't promise me that." I muttered from my position on the bed, still with my eyes closed, and tears streaming down my face. I was so glad that nothing happened, and that he didn't do anything, but I was still so afraid, I couldn't even look at him.

"I know can't, not really, but I can sure as hell try." He said, "And I'll try really hard."

I didn't say anything; I didn't know what to say.

"It's just…I was trying to find you today, and I checked the entire palace, and you weren't anywhere." He explained.

"No one woke me up, and then when I did awaken, it was five in the afternoon. I went to see Kezi when I woke up, and she wasn't in the best mood. I had dinner with her, Coralynn, and Tristan, then I played with the kids…when I came back you did this." I explained, on the verge of hysterics.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"It's okay, you're forgiven," I said softly. I still had my eyes closed, I couldn't open them…I wouldn't let myself. I felt the weight on the bed shift again. Before I knew it strong arms were wrapped around me, pulling me closer to the teenager who happened to be my husband. My first reaction was to close my eyes tighter, and tense up, and I did so. My back was pressed against his nicely toned chest, and I could feel it move up and down, in a steady breathing pattern.

After awhile I didn't mind it so much, and I started to like his strong arms around me protectively. It was like the last time, and I didn't want him to let go. I realized, I if I let it continue, I would want more than what he was doing, and I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't betray Sokka and Aang any more than I already had. I finally opened my eyes, because I wasn't so afraid anymore. "Stop it, please," I begged. I only meant it with half of me, and he could tell.

"Stop what?" he asked teasingly, "This?" and with that last word he kissed my neck. I closed my eyes again, only not in fear, in pleasure and shivered. Even though I couldn't see him, I could tell that he had a smirk on his face. Damn him. This was exactly what I meant and he knew it! He wanted to get a reaction out of me, and he was getting exactly what he wanted. A reaction; the exact kind I didn't want to have. Something inside of me told me not to pull away, so I let him continue. He worked his way up to my lips, and kissed me gently.

I found myself responding to the kiss. He took off his shirt and I ran my hands up his bare chest. He then proceeded to take off my shirt. I let him. He kissed me passionately and I kissed him back. We continued to do this, and I was…what? Did I hate what he was doing to me? The truth was that I wasn't, I was enjoying it! Soon, though, I started remembering things, like Azula and Stone. Azula's pregnant and Stone's off in the war.

_The war…the war…the war…_

The words kept repeating in my head until I figured out why.

_The war…the war…the war…_

Someone else I knew lost the one they loved to the war, and had to raise a child on their own.

_The war…the war…the war…_

My mother! And with that realization, I realized that this had to stop right now.

"You're a bastard, you know that?" I asked him when I pulled away.

"I know," he said simply, and tried to kiss me again. I pushed him away. "What was that for?" he asked when he realized I wasn't kidding.

"I can't do this." I said honestly.

"Why not, we _are_ married." He pointed out.

"I know but—" He cut me off before I could finish.

"But nothing." he persisted, "Don't tell me you weren't enjoying it." He had a knowing smirk on his face.

"You're right," I admitted, "I was enjoying it, and that's exactly why it has to stop." I insisted.

"No…that's why it has to continue." He tried again to kiss me, and succeeded. Again, I felt myself responding to it, and for a split-second, I forgot about stopping, and wanted to let it all continue.

I pulled away unwillingly. I wanted to continue, and I wanted it to go on, but I couldn't let it.

"Why don't you want this?" he asked. He almost looked insulted. It would have been comical if not for the reality of the situation. I wanted it so badly, but I couldn't do it. He sat straight up, as I was, and he looked at me.

I didn't want to tell him the real reason; I just didn't think he needed to know. I swallowed. "I didn't sign on for this." I lied. I found my blouse and put it back on. I couldn't let him look at me in my undergarments any longer. It will only make him more persistent in the matter.

"Yes, you did." He pointed out. "You knew what would happen if you agreed to marry me. You knew the things that would be expected, and you did it anyway." He found his shirt and put it back on also. That made this all easier for me; I didn't have the temptation to look at anymore.

"I didn't—"

"Yes you did, so stop lying to me, now tell me the real reason." He demanded.

I would have used the whole Sokka and Aang would feel betrayed excuse, but I knew he wouldn't buy that either. "I just can't." I said quietly.

"Stop evading the question." He commanded. I flinched at the harshness in his voice. He saw it. "Just—just tell me the real reason."

"It doesn't matter." I turned away from him. I couldn't help it… tears just started pouring down my face.

"Look at me Katara." He pleaded. I wiped away the tears which was pointless, because more just fell, but I did it anyway. I then turned back to him. He reached a hand out to wipe the tears that had fallen again. "It does matter; I want to know what's on your mind."

"No," I corrected "You just want to know why I won't have sex with you!" I noticed I was yelling and stood up.

"That's not what I said."

"That's what you meant." I insisted, "You want to know the reason I can't have sex with you?" I asked…well, more like yelled. He didn't say anything, just blinked. "The real reason is that I don't want history to repeat itself." I told him. "I don't want to make the same mistake my mother made. I don't want to get pregnant and have to raise the child alone because the child's father died in the war. I don't want that for my child." After this, I fell back onto the bed, my hands in my head, and continued to cry.

"Katara," he whispered quietly. "You could have just told me, I would have understood." He cuddled me again, and this time I just smiled. I knew he wouldn't go farther. I knew that he did understand. I moved closer to him and he strode my hair with his right hand—the one that was under me. I let him.

I don't even remember it, but I fell asleep in his arms. And I didn't mind.


	20. Getting Ready

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara 

Chapter: 20. Getting Ready

_Summery: Katara isn't a water peasant as Zuko seems to enjoy calling her. Her birthright entails her a lot more than that. This is the story of Katara; and how she discovered her past, controls her present, and forms her future. [Zutara_

_**Getting Ready**_

The next morning, Kezi was back at work, and was waking me up again. I knew something happened the night before, but I didn't know what. "Today's the day, today's the day!" she was singing.

I groaned. "Today's what day?" I grumbled.

"The ball, silly, now get up." She said playfully.

I finally remembered what happened last night. I fell asleep in Zuko's bed—my husband's bed. How did I get here? "Was I here when you came this morning?" I wondered.

"No, actually you weren't." she said. "Why do you ask? Don't you remember sleeping with Zuko last night?" she gave me a knowing smirk.

"Yes, I remember." I said.

"Mmm hmm" she smiled. "Do you remember everything, or was it so good that you can't even remember it?" she started to laugh at her own question. And I was amazed by how close we'd gotten that we could talk like this without being totally embarrassed.

"It wasn't like that." I insisted, knowing what she was asking.

"That's what they all say," she taunted.

"Right, and how many people do you actually know that have said that?"

"Well, actually, just you; but do you honestly not remember?"

I shook my head. "No, all I remember from last night was what happened before I fell asleep. I don't know what happened after." Who knows what he could have done while I was sleeping? I shivered at the thought, and then realized that he wouldn't have done anything, even if he wanted to. His honor would have prevented him from doing anything. 

"Well, when I got here, you weren't here. I figured you went to breakfast, so I went to check, and you weren't there, so I came back, and waited. All of a sudden someone came in the room. It was Zuko, carrying you in his arms. He said that you were sleeping, so I led him to the bedroom, and he set you in the bed, and put the covers around you. He gave me a smile, and left. I have been waiting for the perfect time to wake you since." She explained, a soft smile playing gracefully on her lips.

I didn't say anything, nor did I make any attempt to get out of my bed. 

"Will the Fire Lord be at this ball?" I asked.

Kezi laughed. "Heavens no, Fire Lord Ozai hates gatherings. If it wasn't for tradition, they would be outlawed."

I sighed.

"Come on, you have yet to get ready for the ball." She said.

"The ball's not until after dinner, why do I have to get ready now?" I asked. I hadn't looked at the clock yet, and if I had, I would have understood.

"Uh, because it's almost three in the afternoon." Kezi replied as if I was dumb.

"Well, you could have woken me up sooner." I shot back.

"There was no need to, you had nothing to do, and the other day you said that you didn't want to be up any more than you had to be." She teased. "Plus, you are much easier to deal with when you are sleeping.

I would have thrown a pillow at her, but it wouldn't have hit her, for the silver hanging would have kept it from hitting her. "That was an uncalled for statement." I pouted. She reached one hand in the bed and grabbed my right hand. "Hey what do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

"Come on, you have a lot to do."

Boy, oh, boy, did I. I had to soak in a bunch of oils and whatever not. It was supposed to make my skin really soft. Why I needed soft skin for a ball I will never understand. After that, I had to wash my hair…. Three times! And after that, I had to have a type of conditioner sit in my hair. And that had to happen twice. Then I washed my body, making sure not to touch my hair.

When that was done, we had to wait for my hair to dry. By then, I it was dinner time. I ate in my sitting room, mostly because I was in a fuzzy robe and didn't want to be seen with it on. Unlucky me, though, Azula decided to join me. Dinner was pretty good, and Azula, looked like me—in a fuzzy robe with mostly wet hair. When dinner was done, Azula excused herself; she had to finish getting ready, as did I. 

After that, I had to get my hair done. Three more maids were called to my room. They decided on the hair style. My bangs were to be pulled back and fastened with a fancy silver clip, and the rest of my hair was just going to hang down. My almost curls were accented this way. The combing of the hair took a half an hour in its own, and then it took ten minutes to get the style just right. When that was done, they did the makeup. I didn't mind the pink lip gloss or the neutral colors they picked, and soon it was time for the best part.

The dress. Before the dress came many layers of undergarments. Then it took all four of them to actually put on the dress, it was so huge and puffy and frilly. When it was on, they found silver high-heeled sandals for me to wear. They protested about the necklace with my wedding ring on it, but I made sure that it stayed on. It was replacing the necklace my mother gave me, the one I knew Zuko had. I had to wear it.

Five minutes before the ball was to start… I was ready.


	21. The Reaction

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 21. The Reaction

_Summery: Katara, fearing for her friends' lives, makes a hard decision, and decides to live with Zuko in the Fire Nation as his Fire Nation Princess. There, she meets many people with dark pasts, and a Royal Family with even darker secrets._

**Author's Note: First off, I'd like to apologize for being gone for, what, like five months? Let's just say that the shock of the fact that the love of my life is leaving and my parents—whom have been together for sixteen and a half years and have always promised that they'll stay married—have decided to get a divorce has finally wore off. But that's about it. But now I'm back, and I plan on finishing this story as fast as I can. But, I do have standards, so reviews do help get the chapters out faster. I'd also like to apologize for the short chapter. But as I stated before, if you review, I'll post the next chapter up soon. Plus, the next chapter is extra long.**

_**The Reaction**_

When I was done I asked Kezi, "Now what?"

"You wait." She said simply.

"For what?" I was a little unclear on the entire situation. Obviously, living in a small village in the Southern Water Tribe, I had never been to a ball, or any other type of formal gathering. Even if they held such things, I would have been called 'too young' and they wouldn't have let me go anyway.

"For Zuko." She replied calmly.

"What?" I started to freak out. "After what happened between us last night, I don't even want to be in the same room as him, let alone his date."

"Honestly, Katara, you had to know that you would be going with your husband." Kezi rolled her eyes. "You know…" she had a teasing smile on her face. "You shouldn't be afraid of him. Eventually you will be doing more than what you claim you did last night."

My eyes widened in naive surprise. "For the last time, nothing happened." I insisted hysterically.

"What ever you say, Princess," Kezi laughed.

"Go—go do something." I commanded, not sure what to say. "I just need to be alone right now."

"I didn't do anything…. Did I?" she wondered, frightened at what I might say.

"No, it's just…this is all a lot to handle right now, and I need time to process everything." I explained, remembering how sensitive my friend can be.

"Okay, I'll straighten your bedroom and bathroom." She started to hurry off.

"Kezi," I called.

"Yeah,"

"If you get done with that before the ball ends, you can always borrow one of my dresses and come before the plan." I suggested. The truth was: I wanted someone familiar to be there. I wanted to know someone so I could talk to someone.

Kezi smiled at the offer. "Yes," she said, "I'll be there."

After Kezi left, I took some time to think over everything. I contemplated over when I should tell Zuko about Kezi—his half-sister. I knew I had to tell him tonight, and I was afraid of his reaction.

I knew he wouldn't hurt me—I figured that out last night—but what if he interrupted Azula's and my plan? He could mess up everything without even knowing it. I was hoping he would not act out on impulse, but I knew I couldn't guarantee anything. I knew he was basically a ticking time bomb, ready to explode any moment. I also knew that he looked up to his father—to a point anyway—and wouldn't want to accept anything he didn't want to hear.

"Please let this all work out." I prayed out loud. "Please let everything happen how it needs to."

I was so scared. Azula, Kezi, and I were walking on dangerous ground in doing this. Plotting to overthrow the Fire Lord was a serious crime, I knew that, and I figured we could all get thrown in the dungeons…or, we could get executed, but I tried to get those thoughts out of my mind.

There was a knock on the doors to my quarters, and I sighed. I knew it was Zuko, and I knew what was about to happen. This could very well be one of the last hours of my life, and this was how I was spending it? Oh, well, everything will work out…Well, that's what I liked to hope.

I opened the door and, like I predicted, it was Zuko. "Um…wow…" was his reaction to seeing me in the dress.

I smiled at him. "Thanks," I said, "You look nice too." He blushed furiously. I laughed. "That's a first." I commented.

"What's a first?" he asked.

"You not having anything witty to say, and, instead, not saying anything at all." I replied, liking how I could make Zuko wordless.

"I—um…"

"It's okay, now come on." I said. I held out my hand and he took it.


	22. The Ball

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 22. The Ball

_Summery: __Katara, fearing for her friends' lives, makes a hard decision, and decides to live with Zuko in the Fire Nation as his Fire Nation Princess. There, she meets many people with dark pasts, and a Royal Family with even darker secrets._

**Authors Note: I will mention that Coralynn is royalty in this chapter, and if you don't understand—which I'm sure you do, but I'm telling you anyway to make absolutely sure that no one is confused—Kezi is Ozai's illegitimate daughter, which means she's a Princess. Coralynn is Kezi's daughter, which makes her a Princess—Princess Coralynn. There, I explained it, so, on with the story.**

_**The Ball**_

Zuko led me through a few corridors, and down a flight of stairs. When he did that we were at the top of another set of stairs. I looked down at the people at the bottom of the stairs. The girls were wearing ball gowns that were equally as impressive as mine I closed my eyes, and a shiver ran through my body.

"It'll be okay…I hope." Zuko tried to reassure me. Not doing the best job.

"You have no idea what you're getting into." I muttered, thinking about what we're trying to pull off here tonight.

"What?" he asked. Did he hear me? The look on his face told me that he didn't. I sighed in relief.

"I said: You don't like these balls do you?" A lie, yes, but something I was truly wondering, so it wasn't the worst thing I've ever done.

"No, as a mater of fact, I don't." he replied.

"Then why do we go?"

"Because we have to, now, let's get this over with." He said, and started to lead me down the grand marble staircase. I put on a fake slight smile, and walked down with him.

At first, I just wondered around, talking to women and teenage girls who wanted to talk to me. The conversations were all the same. Everyone was glad to see that Prince Zuko is back. "He's the only nice heir to the throne for so long…" I had heard so many times. I had replied with a simple, "Yes," It wasn't like I was permitted to say much. Even here, women are inferior to men, and are mostly required to speak only when spoken to. The only exception to that rule is talking to other women.

Gossiping with other teenage girls was pretty much the same; they all told me how lucky I was to be married to Zuko. They wondered what it was like being the Lost Northern Water Tribe Princess. Even though I was already royalty, I felt as if I was married into it. I had never lived in a palace, yet alone been to parties in one. I had never had four maids put on a huge frilly dress, let alone one maid help me with my hair and makeup every day. I felt like a fish out of water.

Then I saw Azula. I smiled, and she did so too. She started to walk over to me. I grabbed a small glass of a red drink that a waiter was carrying on a tray and took a sip. It was sweet and sour at the same time.

"When do we start?" I wanted to know.

"After the dancing, when people are starting to leave." Was her reply, and then she left.

I sighed. I didn't really want to be around when everyone was dancing. I found Kezi soon after I left Azula. She was wearing one of my dresses, and it was fitting her perfectly. The only problem would have been that it was not a ball gown, but I don't think Kezi minded. I got a surprise when I went up to her.

"Hi, Princess Katara." A small voice said when I came up to Kezi. I saw Cora come out from behind Kezi. Cora's black hair was curled, and she had flowers in her hair, it was combed until it shined. She was wearing one of the dresses Azula had given her; before Azula even found that out Cora was royalty. Cora's dress was red velvet with a gold lace trim. Cora looked really cute in it, and it was…I'm pretty sure anyway…probably a ball gown for a three year old.

"Hello, Coralynn, how are you this evening?" I asked, smiling at the young gir.

"Good," her little voice said, "Mommy came home, and said that we had to get ready to go to a ball, and at first I didn't believe her, then when we came back here, we went to your room and mommy got dressed in the prettiest dress I have ever seen."

I laughed, so did Kezi. "She did, did she?" I asked, looking at my friend.

"Well, it wasn't exactly like that…" Kezi tried to deny it.

"Hey, Cora, some of the noblemen and generals brought little kids to play with, why don't you go play with them?" I suggested to the small child. I pointed out to where there were a bunch of little girls.

Coralynn smiled from ear to ear. "Okay!" she said enthusiastically, and walked clumsily over to them.

Kezi and I laughed at her, for she was quite fun to watch, and some of the other ladies there were smiling at the sight as well. "So, how is the ball so far?" I asked Kezi.

"It's been interesting…" Kezi smiled.

"Yeah, interestingly boring." I groaned.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad."

"I haven't even talked to my _date_ since we came down the stairs, and, frankly, I hate balls." I complained.

"It'll get better, but, I think I'll take Cora to Marna's now." Kezi sighed. "I'll come back to finish the plan, but Cora has to stay at someone's so it might as well be Tristan's mother's house."

"Oh, you don't have to do that yet." I insisted. "Just stay a little longer; I need someone to talk to."

Kezi did stay a little while longer, but soon Cora came up to us, claiming that she was tired. "I should take her home now." Kezi said.

"Fine, but you have to come back," I told her sternly, "Azula and I need you to make the plan work."

"I know, I'll be back, I promise." She swore.

"Fine," I sighed.

"Bye Princess Katara." Cora waved to me as she walked away.

I waved back.

Soon people were starting to dance. It was a slow song, and I wasn't looking forward to seeing everyone dancing, and me just sitting there on the sidelines. I sighed. "I guess I'd better get used to it." I muttered under my breath to myself.

"Get used to what?" a voice asked from behind me. Zuko.

Without looking at the person who asked the question, I answered. "This—" I pointed to the people dancing.

"Why get used to it when you can _be_ it?" the person behind me wondered, and moved into my line of vision. "Can I have this dance?" he asked when the music stopped and changed into something a little more lively.

"Sure," I said without thinking. When we started to walk over to where everyone was dancing, I remembered something. "Um, Zuko?"

"Yes, Katara?"

"I probably should have told you before we started dancing, but…I don't really know how to dance." I admitted.

The smile on his face was priceless. "Don't worry," he said. "Just follow me, and you'll be fine."

"Where did you learn to dance?" I inquired.

"I'm a Prince, it goes without saying that I would know how to dance." He gave me a knowing smirk. "Selena never taught you how to dance?"

He started to dance, and I mimicked what he was doing. I was kind of clumsy at first, but I think I improved…slightly. "Now that I think about it…no. Though, if you think about it, there really isn't any reason to know how to dance in the small village we lived in at the South Pole. If she did try to teach me how to dance, people would wonder why I needed to know how."

"I guess that makes sense, your parents were trying to stay in hiding." He admitted that the logic behind my theory made sense.

"Are you sure she didn't teach you anything, you're pretty good at this." He looked surprised, but I was even more so.

"No, I never danced in my life, well, except with my friends when we were fooling around…but we weren't even that good." I blushed.

"You have to be lying; it took me a month to learn the steps to this song." He blushed.

"I thought you said that I would be able to keep up with you." I raised an eyebrow, "If it took you a month to learn this dance, how was I supposed to learn it in one night?"

"I didn't know that they would play this song!" he defended himself.

I laughed. "It's okay, I should have known you were lying. There is no way I could know this."

He then had a serious expression. "Then, why are you able to do it perfectly?"

I watched myself copy Zuko's movements. "What, I can't possibly be…maybe my father knew it…he was Fire Nation, maybe I just instinctively know theses dances."

"It's possible," Zuko said, but by the tone of his voice, I knew he wasn't fully convinced of this theory. The song ended after that, and we parted.

"Thanks for that." I said.

"You're welcome." He replied. He smiled, "If you need me again, I'll be around here somewhere."

"Why do you go to these things?" I asked him.

"I have to."

"Why?" I pushed.

"Because it's expected. I have to attend, because I'm a Prince, and the heir to the throne." He explained.

"Is it almost over?" I asked.

"The dancing is, after that you talk to people until they decide to go home." He said.

I smiled. It was about time to put our plan into action. "I—I have to go now…" I said. I had to find Azula. She was going to take me somewhere, and I had to have enough time to remember how to get from here and there fast enough not to miss anything.

"Okay, see you later." He said.

"You know it." I said to myself as I turned from him.


	23. The Plan

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 23. The Plan

_Summery: __Katara, fearing for her friends' lives, makes a hard decision, and decides to live with Zuko in the Fire Nation as his Fire Nation Princess. There, she meets many people with dark pasts, and a Royal Family with even darker secrets._

**Author's Note: ****Sooooooooooooooo**** sorry about the long wait. It's been, what, like almost half a year. There aren't any excuses I can make except that my parent's divorce and the love of my life leaving have been hitting me really hard lately. I will finish this story soon, (provided, of course, that you review and tell me you want the story finished) I promise you that. **

**And, to make up for my long absence, I give you this super long chapter. (Well, compared to my others.) This is also the longest chapter I've ever wrote…ever.**

_**The Plan**_

I found Azula by the stairs that I had walked down earlier. I had searched for her for around ten minutes before I actually found her. One thing we forgot to formulate when we made the plan was where we were going to meet. It also took a long time, because I was wearing high-heals, and a dress that must have been poofing out three feet on all sides of me.

"Finally," Azula sighed in relief when I found her. "I though you were never going to come. I was starting to think that you were going to back down from all of this."

"I couldn't do that." I retorted. "I'm involved in this now." _You jump; I jump, _I thought to myself, smiling at the memory.

"Where's the new-found Princess?" Azula inquired in hushed tones. By the edge in her voice, I figured Azula thought Kezi wasn't going to show up.

"She had to take her daughter to Tristan's mother's house." I explained. When the shadow of doubt washed over Zula's face I added: "Zula, don't fret, she'll be here."

"I hope so, without her, we have nothing." Azula said under breath.

I sighed. Where are you, Kezi? I asked myself. "I know, I know, without Kezi we have no proof. And without proof, Fire Lord Ozai will not be taken off the throne, and Zuko will not end this war, and everything will continue, and Aang will probably die…" I stopped myself when I saw someone. "Kezi, come on, we have to go now." I said, loud enough for her to hear, but not loud enough to draw attention to myself.

Kezi rushed forward. "Sorry, I was having trouble getting Cora to stay with Tristan and his mother."

"It's okay, but we have to go now, it's time to speak to Lord Ozai." Azula said in a creepy tone that made me shiver.

As we made our way to the throne room where Azula was going to speak with Ozai, I was memorizing the way to get to the throne room from the room that the ball was held in. Amazingly, my memory was making it real easy for this to be done. It was actually not a long trip, and really easy to remember. Up the stairs, take a left instead of a right, take another left, and then a right, go straight, and open the last door in the corridor. There was a curtain that you would have to pass to see Ozai, and Azula went in. Kezi and I didn't. We went around that curtain and I waited, Kezi next to me; Azula was to give us a signal when we were to do what we needed to do. That signal was going to be a downward wave of her right hand.

"You wished audience with me, daughter?"

Azula started to speak. "Father, there's something I need to talk to you about, something that should have been discussed a long time ago." She waved her right hand ever so slightly, and I knew what that meant. Kezi and I quietly crept back to the beginning of the room.

"Good luck," Kezi whispered.

"Same to you too." I said. I gave her a short hug, and hoped it wouldn't be the last.

"You'd better go." Kezi said.

"What is this urgent and important matter you speak of?" Kezi and I heard Ozai ask Azula. He was even scarier then I could have ever imagined. Even his voice was hollow, as if he wasn't living, as if he was just a figment of all of our imaginations. But that wasn't possible, and I was hoping that I wouldn't have to see his face ever. It was creepy enough hearing his voice.

"Whatever happens, don't forget me, and please don't hate me for making you do this." I said.

"I don't hate you, I never could, and you didn't make me do this, I want Ozai off the throne as much as you do." Kezi assured me.

"Good luck." I repeated, and left.

Up the stairs, take a left instead of a right, take another left, and then a right, go straight, and open the last door in the corridor—was the way to get there, so the way back would be what? Straight, until the end of the corridor, left, right, then down grand staircase. I rushed down as fast as I could, and tried to locate Zuko.

Amazingly, it wasn't too hard, because Zuko was being a wallflower and was leaning against a wall. He smiled when he saw me. "Hey." He said.

"Hey." I replied. "You have to come with me." I commanded.

"Why? What's going on?" he asked.

"It'll all make sense when we get to where we are supposed to be." I insisted, and proceeded to drag him with me. It was proving to be a very hard task.

"You can't just expect me to follow you wherever you want to go, I deserve an explanation, I'm a Prince." He demanded.

I rolled my eyes. "Remember earlier when you said that if I needed you you'd be around here somewhere, well I need you, and I found you, so come on." I kept trying to drag him. He wasn't budging though, "I don't have time for this." I muttered under my breath.

"I'm a Prince, I deserve to know what's going on!" he repeated his I'm-a-Prince line, actually thinking it'll work.

Okay, I know this is totally off subject, but I looked in a book I found once, and saw the word 'insanity.' Do you know what the definition is for 'insanity?' The definition is: Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results—doesn't that seem like a certain Prince I know of…?

"Yeah, well, I'm a Princess. One of the Water and Fire Nation, mind you, so don't you think two nations overrule one?" I asked.

He relented, and it was his turn to roll his eyes. But he let me drag him off. He must have recognized the route, because he stopped me. "Wait a minute. Have you spoken with my father? Does he want to see me?" his face was hopeful, and it made me so sad to think that after everything, he still wanted his father to like him.

I sighed, "No, he doesn't want to see you, he's talking to Azula, and you need to be there."

"Azula? Why?"

"She called the meeting, there's something that you need to know, and it is going to all be unfolded now, so come one." I persisted.

"Is this some kind of trick?" he inquires, not believeing anything I say.

I sigh, knowing we're running out of time. "Zuko, do you trust me?" After a pause, he nods. "Then you have to trust me now. You have to go to this meeting." He nodded again, and we ran faster, which wasn't that fast since I was still not completely good with the high-heels.

We made it to the throne room just in time. Kezi was there, and gave me a week smile. I smiled back. Zuko glanced at Kezi, and gave me a quizzical look.

I motioned for him to come to where I was supposed to be. He followed with a confused look in his eyes.

"Princess Azula, you should get to the point of this meeting that you called." Ozai said menacingly.

Azula gave a subtle glance to where I was supposed to be, and noticed that I was there, so she gave in. "Yes, milord." She said. She sighed a heavy sigh. _This is it, _I thought. "Seventeen years ago, Princess Ursa, your wife, had suspicions, those suspicions were of adultery—"

We all knew this wouldn't go over well. We all knew that he would deny every single accusation we threw at him. But the anger and bitterness in the statements that followed Azula's words scared me, and I saw Kezi flinch. "You weren't even alive seventeen years ago, how would you know this?" Ozai bellowed fiercely. "You have no right to bring this up now, seventeen years later!"

Zuko was watching this all play out, and I could tell that he didn't want to believe it. Why would he? No one wants to believe that their father was cheating on their mother, even if they knew full well that their father was competent enough to do such acts. The look on his face was so hard to look at. His eyes held so many emotions. They were a mix of sadness, anger, but strangest of all… there was hope. Hope that Azula was wrong, and that we were all making a big mistake.

I felt tears sting my eyes. I didn't think Zuko needed to see this, but if he was going to be the Fire Lord, he should at least know why.

"Yes, I do have a right to bring this up now, if you'll just let me finish…" Azula didn't even seem scared. She didn't seem a bit nervous. It amazed me how she could be so calm in front of the man who was responsible for almost everything bad in the world. It made no sense to me, and yet, I understood it perfectly. He was, after all, her father. You shouldn't be afraid of your father.

"Okay, finish." Ozai demanded coldly. There was no feeling in his voice, and no trace of emotion on his face

"Those suspicions of adultery were directed towards you, milord." Azula smiled venomously. "She thought you were cheating on her, but Princess Ursa had no way to prove it…so no actions were taken. Now there is proof in the matter."

Zuko glanced at me, and I looked at him with a sad expression on my face. Without saying a word, we had the conversation I'd been dreading. He nodded solemnly; he knew what the new proof was.

"What proof could there possibly be?" Ozai sneered, "I never did anything wrong!"

"Oh how wrong you are father." Azula muttered shaking her head. "Little did anyone know, but that girl you were having your affair with got pregnant. She told you that you were the father, but you refused to listen. You said that she was sleeping with another man, and that the child wasn't yours. Well, the child was yours, and I know it."

"For the last time, I didn't have an affair with anyone, I was faithful to Ursa." Ozai was lying through his teeth, and everyone could tell.

"Kezi, you can come in." Azula called.

Kezi stepped in slowly. She, I could tell, was not comfortable with this at all. She wanted it to be over, and was not looking forward to what was going to happen.

"Why did you bring in one of the maids, Azula?" Ozai asked.

"You know why, father." Azula said, smiling. "Because she's your daughter." She looked straight ahead at her father. "Your illegitimate daughter."

"This can't be…" he didn't say the last word real loud, but we could all tell that it was 'happening.'

"Take a good look at her, she even has some of your features." I could see Zuko trying to go out there, and I couldn't let him. He couldn't go out there. Everything was working according to plan. I took a hold of his hand and pulled him back.

"What was that for?" he whispered.

"You can't go out there yet, it has to play out on it's own." I explained, also in a whisper.

"But—"

"No buts, for once, do as I ask. You've got to trust me, Zuko, or this marriage of ours will never work."

He sighed in frustration, and pulled his hand away from mine.

"She has your hair, and your eyes," Azula commented.

"GET OUT!" Ozai screamed.

Azula smiled. Everything is working according to plan. The generals in the room heard everything, and they will testify to it, unless they want to face the wrath of Zuko and Azula. "You know what this means father." Azula said, and left, with Kezi following soon after.

Azula and Kezi came to where Zuko and I were hiding and we all watched Fire Lord Ozai's reaction.

We could see the guards giving each other looks. They all knew that they would have to go against their Fire Lord, because if they didn't Zuko and Azula would have them killed. I knew that neither would actually perform the task, but that it would be taken care of. I shivered at the thought, and I felt someone hold my hand in an effort to reassure me. I looked over to Zuko and smiled.

"This can't be happening, I gave Marlana enough money to leave the country and never be heard from again."

I looked at Azula and smiled. Everything was going according to the plan.


	24. Arguments and Figures in the Night

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 24. Arguments and Figures in the Night

_Summery: __Katara, fearing for her friends' lives, makes a hard decision, and decides to live with Zuko in the Fire Nation as his Fire Nation Princess. There, she meets many people with dark pasts, and a Royal Family with even darker secrets._**Author's Note: Okay, so I decided I wanted to put Master Pakku and Princess Yue in this story, so I decided that while the gang was headed to the Northern Water Tribe, they met Master Pakku and Princess Yue. Sokka fell in love with Yue, and Katara mastered waterbending, as did Aang.**

_**Arguments and Figures in the Night**_

After we saw Ozai get mad, throw things, burn things, and torture random people who happened to walk in the throne room, and mutter something along the lines of how this wasn't supposed to happen like this; we left. Frankly, I wasn't too sad to leave, the place made me nervous.

When we were out of the room, Azula burst out in a fit of giggles. I looked at her in a way you would look at a person if you saw that they had two heads. I saw that Kezi and Zuko had the same expression on their faces. I wasn't alone in the feeling of confusion.

"What?" Zula asked, "You can't honestly tell me that you didn't find that the least bit funny. The cool, calm, and collected Fire Lord Ozai loosing his temper, yet again."

Yes, it was nice to see him lose control of everything, but it was also quite scary. I mean how would you feel, if there was a firebending sadist who knew his reign was ending, was going crazy and there was only a curtain separating you from him? Yeah, I didn't think I was alone in this feeling either.

Kezi spoke next. "Azula, that was dangerous, how you spoke to the Fire Lord," she paused. "But it was also so incredibly brave of you!" she now had an astonished expression on her face. I would have too, except I was completely in shock of the whole scene.

"He's my father," Azula stated, "I don't think I should be afraid of him."

"He's my father too, but I'm still afraid of him!" Kezi exclaimed.

The two of them continued to talk, but I wasn't participating. I was looking at my husband. He had a dazed and disappointed look on his face. He looked at me, and his face changed. Now he had a glimmer of…concern…in his eyes. He came over to me and said in a forceful tone, "We have to talk…alone." Zuko tried to pull me away, but I yanked my hand away. No, this was not happening a second time. Not if I could help it.

"You can't just drag me off whenever you please. I have a will of my own, and, perhaps, I don't want to go away off with you to your room." I said defiantly.

He looked taken aback by the statement, but he quickly recovered. "Fine," he huffed, "We'll just go to your room instead."

He grabbed me. Of course I protested, I did so like crazy, but it did no good. To no avail, he led me down many corridors to my room, despite my protesting. Once in my sitting room he shut the door to my quarters and locked it. He then blew up at me.

"Do you know what you just did?" he asked.

"Of course I know what I just did. Do I look like the type of person who would go into something so dangerous and not know what she was doing?" he opened his mouth to give an objection, but soon closed it when he realized that my argument made sense "Now that you're listening to reason, you can go." I pointed to the door and tapped my foot impatiently.

Honestly, if I really thought it was going to be that easy, I was going insane. He did not leave like I politely asked him to, instead he stood right where he was and continued to yell at me. Like it was my fault!

"Do you know what could have happened in there? If he had known that this was all planned out, and it wasn't just my devious sister doing the planning, you could have been in big trouble." He yelled.

"I can handle myself just fine." I replied in the calmest voice I could manage, which was reasonably calm for the situation.

Did I ever tell you how much I hate it when people would say I can't do things for myself? Well, if I haven't said it yet, I'll tell you right now. I hate it.

I continued. "Don't undermine me just because I'm a girl, I am a master waterbender."

To say that the look on his face was surprise would have been the understatement of the century. "You're a what?" he stammered.

I decided to say the last sentence again, only slower, like I was speaking to a child with hearing and comprehension problems. "I. Am. A. Master. Waterbender."

"How did you…when did this…?" Zuko didn't even know what to say. I smiled at this, how often does the Fire Prince not have anything to say?

"When we were on our way to the North Pole, we met this man who said he was a master waterbender. Later I learned that I was learning waterbending from the man who was supposed to marry my grandmother…Master Pakku." I said in answer to his unspoken questions.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he wanted to know.

"You never asked." I replied simply.

After a moment of silence, he started yelling at me again, as if the last part of our conversation never happened. "My father is not a forgiving man; he wouldn't have given it a second thought to punishing you."

"Did you not hear me? I can handle myself." I put in uselessly.

"He would have killed you!" he screamed in frustration and in rage. I should have known where this would lead to, I've seen it enough, but no, I just pushed him even further.

"Are you saying you would have actually cared if I was killed? At least then this marriage would be over, and you could go back to whatever it was that you did before I came along! Hey, your father would even have full control over my lands." I guess everything was finally getting to me. After that little episode, I ran into my bedroom, and on to my balcony.

I didn't even bother to sit on anything, I just ran up to the ledge by the railing, and dropped to the floor. I started sobbing. Everything was starting to get to me again, and I wasn't prepared to deal with it. I didn't even notice when the door opened and Zuko came out. He helped me up and wiped away the tears carefully. I don't know when he gets these sudden impulses to actually care about me, but they always seem to come out of nowhere…usually after a fight of some sort.

"I don't hate you, you know." He said.

"I know, I was just…overwhelmed." I replied, sniffling.

"I don't want you killed." He muttered. "Before you…before this…I really didn't have anything, and now…I don't know, I just feel as if there is something…"

I smiled. I held his hand and looked out toward the night's sky. "I did it for you, you know," I told him.

"I know," he said after a moment of silence. "It was just…this could end very badly, but very great at the same time…I didn't know what to think, and I feared what would have happened to you if it took a turn for the worse."

I liked that he was being caring. I knew that he had a lot of mood swings, and was glad that he was being nice for a change. I looked over toward the moon which was almost full, and I saw something familiar. I shook my head. "No, I didn't just see it, it was just my imagination." I thought, but when I noticed Zuko looking at me, I realized I hadn't just thought it, but said it too.

"What did you see?" he asked.

"Nothing," I told him, trying to make myself believe it also, "I didn't see anything."

"I know you better than that, what did you see?" he persisted.

"You hardly know me," I evaded, "So don't even say that, and I didn't see anything…" but I trailed off when I saw it again, only now it was closer. It was coming closer every moment. I looked at my husband who was looking at me curiously. "Zuko…" I said slowly, becoming more afraid every moment. I was still looking at what I knew was coming closer. "Go in my room, and don't come out until I say so." I commanded.

Usually he would argue with me, but he heard the urgency in my voice, and did as I asked.

I watched, trying to stay calm, as the figure came closer to me. When it was close enough to confirm what I already knew to be true, I gasped. "No, not now," I whispered to myself.


	25. Meeting…Again

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 25. Meeting…Again

_Summery: __Katara, fearing for her friends' lives, makes a hard decision, and decides to live with Zuko in the Fire Nation as his Fire Nation Princess. There, she meets many people with dark pasts, and a Royal Family with even darker secrets._

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I was distracted. I updated my profile (again), added a few of my more recent projects, and posted a poll. Since ALTCB part 2 is coming to a close (two more chapters (I know, can you believe it?)) I've decided to ask the audience what my next project should be. It's not to say that I'll work on the one with the higest amount of votes, but it will help me figure out where I should focus my attention. So, PLEASE VOTE! I need your opinions!**

_**Meeting…Again**_

I watched, completely in shock, as Appa came up to my balcony. "No, this can't be happening now, not now," I muttered to myself.

If I was honestly hoping for a happy reunion, I was sadly disappointed. Aang and Sokka jumped off of Appa's back and came onto the balcony. I was tempted to turn around and ask if Zuko was alright, and see his reaction to this, but I couldn't give him away…not just yet. Aang was in an almost catatonic state. Sokka regarded me as if I had done something as horrible as treason.

In that moment I realized what all of this was; what all of this looked like. I was in the Fire Nation. I was in a dress; a light blue, sparkling, ball gown to be more specific. My hair and makeup was done. I was just on the balcony of the lovely quarters that were prepared just for me. I looked exactly like what I was supposed to be; what I was. I looked like a Southern Water Tribe peasant who just found out that she was a Northern Water Tribe Princess and had to marry the Fire Nation Prince.

"Sokka…Aang…" I uttered, not knowing what I should say. What could I tell them? What lie could I tell them that they would actually believe it? Maybe they would believe anything I tell them just because they don't want to believe the truth. Could I really be that lucky?

"I can't believe I tried to defend you." Sokka said at last. Not the best welcome I've ever heard, but for the situation, it was probably one of the top ten. "I can't _believe_ that I was even worried about you." He spat that part out, as if I didn't deserve it.

I flinched at the coldness in his voice. "Sokka it's not what it looks like." I defended myself and Zuko.

"Come off it, Katara." He yelled, "It's _exactly_ what it looks like." The look he was giving me was so…so…well, let's just say that if looks could kill then I would defiantly be dead. "I can't believe you would believe that he actually cares about you."

"What are you talking about Sokka?" I asked. I wanted to see exactly how much he knew. I looked over towards Aang. He had a sad look on his face, and his eyes were glassy with tears. I hated this, all of it. I closed my eyes and prayed that it was just a bad dream. Unfortunately, when I opened my eyes they were both still there.

"Don't pretend like you don't know, you married him for heaven's sake!" Sokka cried. "When we found out we were in a village, and we were just getting some food so we could continue to look for you. We had no idea what happened to you, and we were so scared. Then someone said that that Prince had reclaimed his birthright and was married. They said that he was married to the lost Northern Water Tribe Princess. And when I heard that I instantly remembered the story that mom would tell you, and that you would later repeat…more dramatically…to me. I thought about all the similarities and everything, and I instantly knew it. You are the Northern Water Tribe Princess."

Now, honestly, how many of you really thought that Sokka would figure it out? I didn't think that I was going to have to worry about this encounter until after Ozai had been defeated, but things don't always work out now, do they?

I knew that there was no point in even denying it, if it wasn't going to work on Zuko it wouldn't work on Sokka. I just let him go on talking.

"I tried to believe that there was a logical reason for your marrying the same guy who had been chasing us for the past who-knows-how-long, but after awhile logic just fell apart. I couldn't figure it out, so we came directly here to figure everything out." Sokka explained.

"There _is_ a reason for it." I said.

"Oh, and what is that?" he asked.

"I did it for you and Aang!" I exclaimed. How could he be like this to me, how could he? Did he really think I did it then because I wanted to? From what he knows, I married him the day I got on the ship, and that's not what happened.

"What do you mean, we were all just fine, you ran out on us that day, not even telling us that you were going off to marry some firebending son of a—" he stopped himself before he said something he would regret.

I couldn't believe it. He really thought that I married him the day that I got on the ship. So much for trust. "I didn't even _know_ I was marrying him then, all I knew was what he told me." I yelled back at my brother. I glanced at Aang to see tears running down his face. The look in his eyes told me something. He hadn't just though of me as a friend as I thought of him, but as something…more.

"And what was it that he told you?" Sokka looked at me with an expression that just made me what to prove something to him. What that something was, I had no idea.

"He said that I was going on that ship whether he had to use force or not, and that his father wanted Aang, but he wanted my land more. He said that if I gave up the land he would stop going after Aang…" I trailed off, remembering that night not so long ago. "If the Fire Nation got Aang they were going to have him killed…I care about him too much to see him killed, Sokka." I screamed.

"So you did this to protect Aang?" Sokka muttered.

"Yes, and everything is fine; I'm fine." I assured.

He sneered, "Yeah, I can tell." He was looking at what I was wearing. He didn't believe me, I told him the truth and he didn't believe me. But then I knew I was lying. I _was_ telling him the truth, but not the whole one… "You know there's only one thing I want to know." Sokka said.

"What?" I asked. I was getting really desperate in trying to get him to believe me. Why couldn't he believe me? We were related! Well…not really…But we did grow up together. We know almost everything about each other.

"Do you love him?"


	26. Reasoning

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 26. Reasoning

_Summery: __Katara, fearing for her friends' lives, makes a hard decision, and decides to live with Zuko in the Fire Nation as his Fire Nation Princess. There, she meets many people with dark pasts, and a Royal Family with even darker secrets._**Authors Note: In this chapter there is a part where Katara says something aloud, but is remembering something from a past chapter. What she says is in normal writing, what she remembers is in italics.**

_**Reasoning**_

Do I love him…do I love him? It was the question that I have been trying to answer for so long. Almost from the instant I was first put on the ship. There was always something between the two of us, but did I dare call it love? Did I really want to put everything out on the line like that? Did I really want to tell Sokka what he wanted to hear, or…what I wanted to hear myself?

"No, of course I don't love him." I said, and laughed off the question. At that moment I turned ever so slightly to see if Zuko was still in my bedroom. I noticed that the sliding door was not completely closed, so I figured he was still there. I sighed. I didn't want to hurt anyone with the truth, but I didn't want to hurt anyone with lies either.

"Don't lie to me, Katara." Sokka warned threateningly.

"Fine," I sighed, "We're married, does that give you a clue?" I asked. I was wondering how, exactly, he would interpret the question.

"That's not an answer, and you know it Katara!"

There was no getting around it. I couldn't evade the question any longer. "Yes, I love him, okay?" I screamed. "Is that what you wanted to hear Sokka? Is that what you were hoping I'd say? I love him, and there's no changing it."

Sokka didn't even bother to address me further. He sauntered off mumbling something about killing him when he finds him. Aang went after him, trying to stop him. I was left on the balcony in a daze. Had Zuko heard me say everything? Or did he only hear the lie? I started to cry, I couldn't bare to have Sokka…It was then that the realization from Sokka's last words sunk in.

"Sokka!" I screamed uselessly. "No, you can't kill him, Sokka!" I ran back into my room to find them. Kezi was in there, and she had a very confused expression on her face. I had a feeling she saw, or heard, or knew something.

"Did you see Prince Zuko in here, followed by a Water Tribe boy, followed by a smaller boy with strange blue arrows on his head come by here by any chance?" I asked her.

Kezi gave me a small nod and a questioning look as if to say: "What, exactly, just happened?"

I gave her a small smile, "We'll talk later." I hollered over my shoulder and rushed out the door.

I didn't know where to go, I was in a palace. So I asked the first person I saw. "Have you seen Zuko." She nodded and pointed. I knew from a previous encounter with the Prince, that the place they went was Zuko's room. I guessed that what happened was that Zuko ran, and Sokka followed. Aang then followed Sokka, and they are all now in Zuko's room. I rushed to his room and paused when I got there.

I was scared to enter. I was scared of what could happen. I knew it wasn't going to happen with Sokka and Aang in the room with us, but all the same, I was scared that what happened last time I was in Zuko's room would happen again. I took a deep breath.

I was about to open the door when a voice from inside stopped me. "Guys, guys, stop it!" Aang. He was trying to stop them. From what I didn't know, and I really didn't want to find out, but I knew that I had to go in there, so I did.

What I saw was Zuko and Sokka fighting. That was inevitable, yes, but the strange thing was that Sokka appeared to be winning. Yeah, you heard me, Sokka appeared to be winning. But, as you should know, looks are usually deceiving. Zuko kicked Sokka in a…not so nice…spot. You'd think Sokka would quit, but he didn't. He went right back up to him and punched Zuko.

"Stop it!" Aang screamed. Do you think they paid any attention towards Aang? No, they didn't. Aang tried airbending, but they ignored him.

"What happened?" I asked my friend…or the twelve-year-old who used to be my friend. Are we friends anymore? How does Aang feel about me and Zuko? Is it even accurate to call him twelve? He was born over 112 years ago. Does that make him one-hundred-twelve? "What happened, Aang?" I repeated.

It was a really stupid question for me to ask. I'll be the first to admit it, but it was all I could think to ask. Aang obviously knew it was a stupid question and shot me a look.

He answered none-the-less. "What do you think happened, Katara? Sokka went after Zuko, who happened to be in your bedroom—which Sokka will almost certainly ask you about later—and when he found him in here, he attacked him." Aang had the most serious look on his face. One you would never expect to see on a twelve-year-old's…or one-hundred-twelve-year-old's… face.

"I know it looks bad, but it was completely innocent." I defended.

"Whatever; just get them to st—" Aang was interrupted by the shattering of glass. It was such a familiar sound, it made me shiver.

"Zuko stop it."_ I shouted at him. I kept shouting it, but it didn't do any good. I walked up to him reluctantly, and grabbed his arm. He whirled on me_. "Zuko, you have to stop this." _I said. He just pulled away from me. _"Zuko, you're scaring me!"_ I yelled as loud as I could._

It was then that I realized I had said it aloud. Aang gave me a confused and hurt look, but that was the only reaction I got from anyone in the room. I looked at the ground and saw some broken pieces of glass. I picked two of them up. I looked at Aang who had a fearful look in his grey eyes. I looked into his grey eyes with my sapphire ones and in that gaze; I told him that everything would be okay. In that glance I told him that what I was about to do was going to stop it. I was going to make them stop.

I put the two pieces of broken red glass to my throat. "Katara," Aang started warningly.

"It'll be okay." I assured him.

I turned toward the fighting teenagers. Zuko had started to use his bending, and I was frightened. I then remembered something I had asked him.

"_I promise not to kill the Avatar or your brother if they try to kill me." He said. Then his face got serious, "But don't think that I will not hesitate to hurt them if they try anything. I said I won't kill them, but that doesn't mean I can't hurt them."_

"I don't want him hurt either." I whispered to myself. I took a deep breath and yelled as loud as I possibly could. "Sokka, Zuko, STOP FIGHTING RIGHT NOW!" They both looked at me this time.

"Katara don't—" Sokka started, but Zuko cut him off.

"Katara put the glass down now!" Zuko commanded.

Did he honestly think that I was going to drop the glass? Did he really think I would let him to continue to let my brother fight a losing battle? "No." I said defiantly.

"Katara put the glass down." Zuko repeated.

I did not do as I asked. I had no intention of doing so until I had what I wanted. "No more fighting." I declared. "Sokka, you can't kill him just because I love him. Zuko, you promised…" I trailed off, on the verge of tears.

Zuko walked away from Sokka and sat on a chair. He put his hands in his head and sighed.

Sokka went over to me. "You can't love him." Sokka said. It was like he thought that if he said it, it would make it true.

"I can love him, and I do." I whispered.

"He's a firebender." Sokka pointed out intelligently.

"Yeah, so? What else is new?" I questioned.

"You don't know what he's capable of. You don't know what he could do to you!"

"I know exactly what he's capable of." I replied. "I know that he would never hurt me if that's what you're trying to imply." Sokka tried to think of something to say, but no words came out of his mouth.

"Sokka, I'm older now, I'm growing up." I insisted. "I'm not the eight-year-old I was when our mother died. You don't need to protect me, I have Zuko." I reached out to my husband and took his hand in mine. "It's time that I learned to do things on my own. I've seen so much more than you know now, or will ever know, so don't tell me to shut my eyes and pretend that it never happened. I'm not a girl, don't tell me what believe."

"Katara…" Sokka pleaded.

"Sokka, we grew up surrounded by war. It took away my father—my biological one—then later took away our mother, and it has probably taken away your father. You lost Yue because of this war. We didn't grow up peacefully, we grew up too fast. I missed most of my childhood because I had to take care of our grandmother. Back at the South Pole you were teaching children no older than seven how to be warriors. We didn't ask for any of this…but, yet, here it is. We can't hide from what we are supposed to do. You can't hide me away forever."

I let go of Zuko's hand and took both of Sokka's. "Sokka listen to me. You can't tell me what to believe. You might have been able to when I was younger, but I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm not as impressionable as I was back then. I have to make my own choices and learn from my own mistakes. Please trust me on this, everything will be fine."

Sokka let out a sigh that he had been holding in. "Fine, I guess you're right. Just because I know that your decision could possibly be destructive, gives me no right to intervene…not too much anyway."

I laughed. "That's good enough for me, now you guys have to get out of here. Ozai is still in charge, and he could capture you." I said seriously.

"What do you mean _still_ in charge?" Aang inquired.

I then proceeded to tell them about all of the things that have happened here while they have been gone, and I have been here.


	27. Finally Over

Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 2: A Trying Love

Author: WishHe-LovedMe

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Chapter: 27. Finally Over

_Summery: __Katara, fearing for her friends' lives, makes a hard decision, and decides to live with Zuko in the Fire Nation as his Fire Nation Princess. There, she meets many people with dark pasts, and a Royal Family with even darker secrets._

**Author's Note: So I guess this story is finally coming to a close. (It's about damn time, I think!) I would like to remind you to go into my profile and vote for the next story to come. You're feedback is greatly appriciated. (You have no idea.)**

_**Finally Over**_

Zuko came out to watch my brother and Aang leave. I knew that he was glad they were leaving. I couldn't say I wouldn't feel the same way if I was in his shoes. "I'll see you two soon, I promise." I told them. "We just have to get everything perfected here first."

"I understand, I wouldn't want to be thrown in the dungeons." Sokka joked. I smiled at him. It was nice that he was starting to come around.

I knew it would take him a long time to really accept Zuko, but I knew that one day he would. I was hoping that one day would be sooner rather than later.

"Well, then, you'd better get out of here." Zuko said.

I pushed him playfully. "Are you trying to hurry this along?" I teased.

He gave no reply, only stood there. "Sokka, you need to find Aang an earthbending master…I think I know who could teach him firebending…" I looked over to my husband.

He sighed. "If I have to…"

"You have to."

"Well, if I have to learn earthbending before I can see you two so I can learn firebending, than I guess I should head out." Aang sighed. It was really late, and I was tired. I heard Aang's "Yip-yip," only faintly.

The next thing I remember is being in a room that is not my own. I opened my eyes to see a room that was completely the opposite of mine. Instead of blue and silver, everything was red and gold. I rolled over just ever so slightly to see Zuko. We were both under the sheets, and he didn't have a shirt on. _Did we…_ No, I realized. Zuko wouldn't do that, not after the last time. I closed my eyes and tried to fall back asleep, but sleep didn't come easily and when if finally did, someone interrupted.

There was a knock on the door, and Zuko groaned. He must have thought I was still asleep, because he said nothing to me. He opened the door slowly.

"What is it? Can't you see that we're trying to sleep?" Zuko whispered fiercely to the poor messenger.

At the mention of "we're," the messenger subtly peeked in, so he could see who the other person was…that other person being me. "I'm—I'm sorry your highness, but I have some devastating news, and it is of great importance." The messenger insisted.

I sat up, I was almost afraid that Zuko would get mad at the messenger for waking me up, but he didn't. Maybe Zuko already knew of the news?

"What news is so important that you had to awaken me and my wife?" That was the first time I had heard him refer to me as his wife, and the realization was almost scary. It probably would have been, for it not the fact that I wanted to be married to him.

"The Fire Lord—the Fire Lord—he—he killed himself late last night." The messenger stuttered.

Two hours after hearing the news, everyone Ozai knew, the good and the bad came to pay their respects to him. I went, because I was Zuko's wife. I saw Azula there, and she was faking tears. Maybe at the beginning they were real, but now, they are just for show, so no one will know why Fire Lord Ozai had killed himself.

Only few people know that the Fire Lord died, so his secrets would be burned with him. Only few people knew of Kezi's paternity, and Ozai's adultery. Only few people knew that he killed himself so no one would ever find out about the terrible crime he committed, the crime his wife never proved.

The thing the Fire Lord didn't count on was that the few people, who knew, were not loyal to him…not anymore. The few people that knew of the late Fire Lord Ozai's sin were soon going to exploit it.

Since Zuko was still under age, and couldn't take the throne until he was eighteen, his Uncle Iroh became the Fire Lord. That is…until Zuko comes of age, then Iroh plans to step down, and let Zuko take the throne. And when Zuko comes of age, Kezi will be ofically announced as a Princess of the Fire Nation.

Zuko and I were in the gardens. I was sitting on the ledge of the fountain we told each other of our pasts. Now we were thinking of the future. "Is it finally over?" I asked him hopefully. "Is the war finally going to stop? Will everything be okay?"

"Well, it will not be as simple as you make it seem, but…yes, the war is over. Everything will be okay."

I smiled. "I love you." I told him.

"I love you too." he replied.

**Author's Note: And with that, I declare that the end of part two. Didn't I end that on a happy note? So yeah, originally, this was a three part story, but I changed it to a two part about six months ago—halfway through the story. I can't tell you that I'll ever get the third part up, but if I find inspiration for it, then maybe it'll be out. But don't expect it any time soon.**

**Lastly, I'd like to give special thanks to _ML7, An-Jelly-Ca, ChipFest, birdsfly,_ &_ Silver Shadow75_ for being my most awesome fans! Your support is one of the few reasons I ever finished this. Thank you so much!**


	28. One Last Thing

No, this isn't a new chapter. I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to inform you all that from the previous poll (the one mentioned in the ending chapters) I have decided to start the oneshot series _What You Do To Me_.

It is up now, under a different name, and I decided the working title didn't have as much significance as the now current title.

It is uploaded now, and you can find it in my profile, under the name _Don't Say You Love Me_, which comes from the (long) first oneshot.

Thank you for reading this and I hope you all read the new series of oneshots.

-Lyssa


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